Thousands gathered Tuesday to honor Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old peace activist who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and later killed in captivity. His wife, Yocheved, mourned that he had been murdered by those he had spent his life trying to help.
Lifshitz, a founding member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was buried in the devastated community he helped build. During the Hamas-led attack, 117 of its 400 residents were either killed or kidnapped.
Captured alongside his wife, Lifshitz was shot in the hand before being taken to Gaza, where he was later executed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Yocheved, 86, was released weeks later but remains haunted by their ordeal.
“Our abduction and your death have shaken me to the core,” she said at the funeral. “We fought for social justice and peace, yet we were struck by those we tried to help.” She vowed to continue the fight to bring all remaining hostages home.
President Isaac Herzog, addressing mourners, asked for forgiveness that Israel had failed to protect Lifshitz and his community. He called for a state inquiry into the failures of October 7, a pointed challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has resisted such a probe.
The funeral also served as a moment of remembrance for the Bibas family—Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 10 months—who were murdered in captivity. Their bodies were recently returned and will be buried Wednesday.
Lifshitz’s family remembered him as a loving grandfather, a talented pianist, and a man who believed in Israel’s future. His son Yizhar compared him to Moses, saying, “You were a real leader.” His grandson Daniel vowed to carry on his fight for justice and peace.
