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From his home in eastern London, the British-Israeli Lifschitz de Sharone never lost the hope that his 84-year-old father Oded would return from the horror of Hamas’ captivity, after more than 500 days.
He was a man of peace, an activist and a friend of the Palestinians.
He was dragged from his home by Palestinian armed men on October 7 and murdered in captivity after being taken to Gaza Vivo.
The return of his body on Thursday was devastating news for Mrs. Lifschitz and her family, particularly her mother and night That was also a hostage but returned alive And now he will not be able to meet with her 63 -year -old husband.
After identifying Oded’s body, the head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine of Israel said he was killed in captivity more than a year ago. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said that “he was murdered in captivity by the terrorist organization of the Islamic Jihad.”
The BBC was with Sharone, a filmmaker and academic, at home when the fire was announced last month.
She shed tears of joy and hope, since she finally saw an opportunity in which she would discover what had happened to her father. After more than a year of being held hostage, she did not know if she was alive or dead.
Sharone Lifschitz admitted that at her age the hopes of her survival were thin, but she also believed that “miracles can happen.”
Mrs. Lifschitz has been an eloquent and dignified voice for the launch of her father and the other hostages, and shed light on the trauma that hostage families have faced since her terrible experience began.
“One way or another, we will know. We will know if you are still with us, if we can take care of it. We will know who we are afflicting … My father did not deserve this.
But she acknowledged that there were “more tombs to come.”
And now, one will be for his father.
Oded Lifshitz was a journalist and veteran peace activist who led the sick Palestinians to hospitals in Israel to receive treatment. In his campaign for Palestinian rights, he met Yasser Arafat, then head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He helped found Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived and was taken hostage. It was a place where he was known for the cactus that grew, the piano that played and the grandchildren he adored.
His wife andocheved, who was released hostage by Hamas in 2023, met the then leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, while he was in the tunnels under Gaza, and told him that he should be ashamed of himself.
The British lawyers who support the family said “andocheBed must be the only person who has met Sinwar, Netanyahu and the Pope, and gave everyone a piece of his mind. That is the type of extraordinary person he is.”
On Wednesday, when he received a peace award for his campaign for the hostages, he said: “Oded was a great fighter for peace. He had very good relations with the Palestinians and what hurts most is that they betrayed him.”
His family said they could now cry for a husband, father, grandfather and great -grandfather, but after “503 agonizing days of uncertainty”, “they waited and prayed for a different result.”