Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was held hostage in the Gaza Strip and released last month, recounted on Wednesday how she confronted her captors.
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Speaking to online outlet Davar in an interview, Lifshitz said that in the first days after her abduction to Gaza, she asked one of her captors, who spoke in Hebrew, 'Aren't you ashamed doing this to people who supported peace all these years?'" She added that the man, who she identified as Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar, "did not respond. He just remained silent."
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Yocheved Lifshitz with her family calling for her husband Oded's release from captivity in Gaza
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Lifshitz's claim came following a report this week that Sinwar met with Israeli hostages at the beginning of the war in one of the tunnels in Gaza and told them in Hebrew, "You are the safest here, nothing will happen to you."
However, her son Yizhar later clarified that it was a case of mistaken identification. "After consulting with security sources, we confirmed that it wasn't Sinwar." He added, "She met with a high-ranking official who visited the captives. This official spoke Hebrew."
Lifshitz and her husband, Oded Lifshitz, 83, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and were held separately in captivity. The couple are both longtime peace activists, and Oded used to drive cancer patients from Gaza to receive treatment at hospitals in Israel.
Although Lifshitz returned to Israel several weeks ago, her husband Oded remains in Hamas captivity. On Tuesday, she joined protesters in front of the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, advocating for the return of men still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
"It was important for me to come and protest myself. I recovered for a month and rested at home, and now I'm here for Oded," Lifshitz said, holding a sign with her husband's picture.
"When I was taken hostage, I saw that Oded passed out and fell on the floor. He was injured by shrapnel or a bullet that hit our safe room and when I was taken, I did not know if he was alive," she said on Tuesday. "Someone who came out of captivity recently told us that he was alive. He should come back too."