My grandad was murdered by Hamas & handed back in sick coffin parade – world should not rest until they are obliterated
THE grandson of an elderly hostage killed in Hamas’ clutches has blasted the cowardly terror group for his murder.
Veteran peace campaigner Oded Lifshitz‘s body was barbarically released in a gut-churning ceremony alongside the Bibas family.
Oded, a long-term defender of Palestinian rights, and his wife Yocheved were viciously kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Or during Hamas‘ warped October 7 massacre.
Yocheved, 85, was released 16 days later – but 83-year-old Oded, who suffered health issues, was cruelly kept in captivity in Gaza.
His bewildered family spent months praying for his freedom but were left heartbroken when his body was callously returned in a locked coffin by gun-toting Hamas monsters in February.
Journalist Oded died in Hamas captivity despite campaigning for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews.
His devastated grandson Daniel Lifshitz insists not enough was done to release his beloved grandfather as he condemned Hamas’ evil treatment of him.
Daniel told The Sun: “Hamas should not exist.
“The way my grandfather was treated is a shame for Hamas, for the Arab world, for cultures, for religions, for everyone around the world who didn’t shout to release him.
“Hamas terrorists shot him, wounded him, dragged him and took him into Gaza, put him in an apartment with no real food or medicine.
“They murdered him by mistreating him. And after that they released his body in a shameful ceremony.
“That is unacceptable. The world should go out and shout about it.”
Oded, whose doctor daughter Sharone is a British citizen living in Walthamstow, East London, was abducted alongside the Bibas family from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
He was at his home in the kibbutz which he helped found when unforgiving Hamas terrorists swept across the border and killed at least 1,200 people before taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
Oded and Yocheved spent years driving sick Palestinians to hospitals in Israel for treatment, but in a twisted irony were hauled into the abyss of conflict.
Yocheved was taken on the back of a motorbike, and the final time she saw Oded he was lying at the edge of their home before he was also kidnapped.
While Yocheved returned to Israel two weeks later, the world waited with bated breath for news on Oded as well as Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir.
Warped Hamas officials claimed they were all killed in an Israeli airstrike without any proof.
Hopes father-of-four Oded and the Bibas family were still alive were shattered when Hamas revealed their bodies would be released in February during the ceasefire.
After 503 days of torment, Hamas handed over four coffins containing what was supposed to be the bodies of Oded, Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
In a vile twist, one coffin held the remains of an unidentified woman rather than Shiri’s. Her body was released separately after.
According to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, which identified the hostage’s remains, Oded was killed in captivity more than a year ago.
A female hostage held with Oded for several days before her release told how after 20 days the peace activist was dragged out of the room after he fell unwell.
Since that moment, his whereabouts became unknown until his body was released last month.
Daniel, a former goalkeeper for Israeli football clubs, said: “Instead of taking him to the hospital and making sure he’s fine again and releasing him they left him to die miserable and alone.
“It’s a shameful situation.
“I think absolutely nothing was done to release my grandfather.
“I put my blame on the international community, on the administrations that were weak and not powerful enough to call on all the Arab world for the release of the elderly, the women and the children.
“All the civilians that should have been released after two weeks maximum.
“They should never have been there, they should have been released after one or two weeks maximum. Then my grandfather would be here, Shiri Bibas and the kids would be back here.
“We have to call and shout, and kill the image of Hamas around the world and stop this diplomatic jihad going all over.”
Daniel said his grandmother Yocheved has recovered physically from her ordeal after telling how she had “been through hell” in captivity.
He added: “My grandmother, she thought he [her husband, Oded] was murdered on October 7. So then it was a rollercoaster to know he was suddenly there and alive and had been kidnapped.
What happened to the Bibas family?
HAMAS terrorists kidnapped the Bibas family from their home in Nir Oz during the horror October 7 assault.
Yarden Bibas was abducted separately from his wife Shiri and son Ariel, four, and nine-month-old Kfir.
They were hauled to Gaza where they were held hostage.
Shiri’s parents were both killed in the attack on the kibbutz.
Shiri and her boys – the two youngest hostages taken from Israel on October 7 – became symbols of the hostage crisis.
Late in 2023, Hamas claimed the mum and youngsters were killed in an Israeli airstrike without offering any proof.
Israeli authorities were unable to confirm their deaths.
Fears for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir grew as the months went by amid a lack of confirmation whether they were still alive or not.
On February 1, Yarden was released amid the ceasefire after 484 days in captivity.
Then on February 20, Hamas handed over coffins it said contained the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
Ariel and Kfir’s remains were verified by Israel, but the remains of the female did not match Shiri’s DNA.
Her body was finally handed back on the evening of February 21.
Hundreds lined the streets for their funerals on February 26, with buildings and monuments around the world illuminated in orange as a tribute to the boys’ hair colour.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were buried alongside her parents in Tsoher Regional Cemetery.
“He came to her in a dream to tell her goodbye and dedicate a song for her.
“She recovered physically. We were very lucky to have her back. Now it’s a closure also for her as much as she thought he might not be with us.”
Great-grandfather Oded was laid to rest in a coffin draped with an Israeli flag and a spray of wild yellow flowers in his beloved kibbutz.
He and his wife were among the founders of Nir Oz in 1955 and they worked hard to make it a haven for those fighting for peace.
It was completely destroyed by Hamas brutes on October 7, 2023 – including the couple’s magnificent cactus garden abandoned after their abduction.
Heartwarmingly, dozens of volunteers rallied together to rehabilitate the garden as a symbol of solidarity and hope.
Daniel said: “My grandfather was the most amazing person who ever existed, he was always about doing the right thing – about bringing justice and looking after the minorities.
“He was an old school guy, he always gave you his full attention, no matter who: his wife, son, grandchildren, children, great-grandchildren, friends – even I could almost say enemies.
“He was very smart, [he] always knew the right thing to do.
“He was a journalist who dedicated his life to peace, human rights and for defending his own kibbutz, family and country.
“He wanted to do good for his country and the world and for me he is a guide. I feel always that he is there with me, guiding me.
“He was a mentor for me, a guide – he’s still guiding me every moment.
“Every day I am fighting for the release of the hostages.”
It comes as Israel has warned that its latest onslaught in Gaza is “just the beginning” as its forces pound the enclave with deadly airstrikes and launch new ground operations.
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered strikes because Hamas had rejected proposals backed by the US to extend the ceasefire in exchange for releasing the remaining hostages.
Hamas still holds 59 of the 251 hostages who were seized on October 7.