Yocheved Lifshitz, one of two hostages recently freed by Hamas, has described her ordeal after being kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group in the brazen October 7 attack, saying she “went through hell.”
With her daughter kneeling by the side of her wheelchair, the frail 85-year-old grandmother on Tuesday recalled the moment she was abducted by gunmen on motorbikes after militants broke into her home in the kibbutz Nir Oz.
“It was difficult but we will get through this,” Lifshitz told reporters at a news conference at the Tel Aviv hospital where she has been recovering since being freed.
Hamas released Lifshitz and her neighbor and friend Nurit Cooper, 79, on Monday, and later they were reunited with family members who rushed to their bedside at Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv.
“She’s talking, she can walk, she can hug her grandchildren … It is incredible that we see her,” said Lifshitz’s grandson Daniel, who heard of her release while staying at a hotel in Eilats with other evacuees from Nir Oz.
He said news of the women’s release sent a jolt of joy through the hotel and hope that others may be freed soon.
“For this community to see these two old women was just an amazing thing,” said Daniel Lifshitz, who took a helicopter from the hotel to see his grandmother in the early hours of Tuesday.
More than a quarter of the Nir Oz community are dead or remain missing after the Hamas terror attack on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people in barbaric raids, triggering Israeli reprisals that threaten to tip into regional conflict.
The release of the two women takes the total number of captives freed to four, but more than 200 hostages are believed to be trapped in Gaza, some within the labyrinth of Hamas tunnels dug beneath the coastal strip.
The remaining hostages include Lifshitz and Cooper’s husbands, Oded Lifshitz, 83, and Amiram Cooper, 85.
Yocheved’s daughter Sharone previously told CNN she was “delighted” about her mother’s release but fears for her father and others being held.
“My father is there and so many other people we know are waiting for good news about everyone,” she said. “We don’t know what’s going on with them. Not even know if they’re alive or what their situation is.”
Abducted from home
For decades, Lifshitz and Cooper lived within the close community of Nir Oz, once home to 400 people near the Gaza border. Being so close to the barrier fence, it was one of the first communities targeted by Hamas militants – and one of the worst hit.
Rows of houses now stand devoid of life, their windows broken, bedrooms torched, and residents’ possessions strewn all around. Video footage shows dried blood smeared on beds and floors, the walls pocked with bullet holes.
