One of the two hostages released by Hamas offered an incredible act of forgiveness to one of the terrorists holding her captive, an emotional video shows.
In an astonishing clip depicting Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, being handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, Ms Lifschitz can be seen reaching out with her hand to one of the masked Hamas gunmen. She then told him: “Shalom”.
The word, which means “peace” in Hebrew, is used by Jewish people to say hello and goodbye.
Hours after her release, Ms Lifschitz appeared at a news conference in Tel Aviv, where her daughter Sharone helped her speak to the international press. Asked why she shook the hand of a Hamas terrorist, Ms Lifschitz calmly said: “Because they treated us very nicely”.
Her UK-based daughter went on to explain: “My mum is saying they were very delicate and gentle with them and took care of all their needs.
“They seemed really prepared, like they had concealed it for a long time. They took care of all the women’s needs, shampoo, conditioner.”
The 85-year-old also recalled how the captives who needed medical assistance and medicines were followed by a paramedic.
Ms Lifschitz said the place where she spent the past fortnight was kept “clean”, and the terrorists were “very concerned about them”.
She said: “They took care of us, we can say that to our credit. They made sure that we could be clean and eat, they gave us pita bread and hard cheese and low-fat cream cheese and that was our food for the entire day.”
Her daughter, whose father Oded remains captive in the Gaza Strip, added her mum “is very much hoping that all the people that were with her will come back. And the story is not over until everyone comes back”.
Ms Lifschitz was one of the Israelis taken from the kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, the day Hamas carried out its unexpected and harrowing attack.
Despite being treated well in Gaza, with the captors saying they were “Muslims and were not going to hurt them”, the 85-year-old was left with bruises as a result of her terrifying trip from the kibbutz to the Strip.
During the press conference, the elderly woman recalled the harrowing moment she was taken prisoner and loaded on a motorbike driven by a terrorist.
Translating Ms Lifschitz’s words, Sharone said: “My mum is telling the horrific stories, she is saying a swarm of people came to the fence, the fence cost 2.5 billion shekel and it didn’t help even a little bit.
“She is saying she was taken on the back of a motorbike with her legs on one side, her upper body on the other side.”
During the trip to Gaza, the elderly woman was “hit by sticks”. She was then forced to walk for a few kilometres on wet ground, before reaching a network of tunnels which Ms Lifschitz likened to “a spider’s web”.
After two US nationals were freed from captivity on Friday and Ms Lifschitz and Ms Cooper were left out of Gaza on Monday, an estimated 218 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas.
