Slain Hamas hostage’s family fights for the release of those still in Gaza

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Oded Lifshitz’s grandson remembers him as a ‘warrior of peace’

Daniel Lifshitz advocates for the release of the remaining hostages after his grandfather returned to Israel in a coffin more than 500 days after he was kidnapped.

Oded Lifshitz was 83 years old when he was ripped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his wife, Yocheved, during Hamas’ attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Yocheved returned to Israel alive in October 2023 and has been advocating for other hostages’ release ever since. On Feb. 20, 2025, Oded returned to Israel in a coffin. His family, however, has not given up hope for those who remain in Gaza.

Daniel Lifshitz, Oded and Yocheved’s grandson, told Fox News Digital that, while the hostages who have returned have brought some light back to Kibbutz Nir Oz, nothing can really be done until all the hostages are back. As of the time of this writing, 13 hostages taken from Nir Oz are still in Gaza, and not all of them are alive.

Daniel Lifshitz speaks about his grandfather during the funeral for Oded Lifshitz on Feb. 25, 2025 in Nir Oz, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

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When speaking to Fox News Digital, Daniel described his late grandfather as a “warrior of peace,” explaining that while Oded served in four wars, he also fought for the rights of minorities.

Oded and Yocheved were peace activists who helped Palestinian pediatric cancer patients from Gaza cross into Israel for chemotherapy. In the eulogy she delivered at her husband’s funeral, Yocheved discussed their activism and said they “were hit by a terrible attack by those we helped on the other side,” according to the Times of Israel’s translation.

Daniel explained that his grandmother felt betrayed not by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, but by Palestinian civilians who she and her husband had spent years helping. 

“After October 7, they didn’t — we didn’t see the Palestinians going to protest outside against Hamas, going to protests for the release of the hostages, which they know if they would release all the hostage is that will be also the end of the war,” Daniel told Fox News Digital. “And they need to show that they don’t want Hamas, and that is where my grandmother she feels really great betrayal because it’s for whom we try.”

Pictures of the Bibas family and Oded Lifshitz, 84, who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and then killed, are displayed next to candles in the dining room in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after their bodies were handed over to Israel under the terms of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, on the day of Lifshitz’s funeral, in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel Feb. 25, 2025.  (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

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Oded’s body was returned alongside those of Ariel and Kfir Bibas. The boys’ mother, Shiri Bibas, was supposed to be in the fourth coffin, but her remains were not there when the coffin arrived in Israel. Her body was returned two days later.

“… their return together is symbolizing the failure of the international community for me because in those cars came a 9-month-old baby, the only baby held hostage in the world with an 83-year-old great-grandfather, the only great-grandfather held hostage in the world,” Daniel told Fox News Digital. 

Daniel Lifshitz walks holding his grandmother’s released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz’s hand, during the “International Rally – United We Bring Them Home” rally in Hostage Square on May 18th, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.  (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

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Daniel grew up with Shiri’s sister, Dana, who told Fox News Digital that she is like a sister to him.
When asked about the differences between the Biden administration and the Trump administration’s handling of the situation, Daniel told Fox News Digital that Trump’s team is “more creative.”

“If one thing doesn’t work, they don’t continue. They try to bring another solution,” Daniel told Fox News Digital.

In the face of tragedy, the Lifshitz family has refused to give up hope that the remaining hostages, alive and dead, will one day return home to Israel. Daniel also hopes his grandmother will be able to get some rest once she knows the hostages are home.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.