The niece of one of the two hostages freed by Hamas on Monday breathed a sigh of relief that her aunt was now safe and is now hoping that the terrorist group will also free her uncle.
Rutie Mizrahi, the niece of Yocheved Lifshitz, the 85-year-old hostage who was released on humanitarian grounds on Monday, shared her joy in interviews with CTV and CBC.
“I was really happy and relieved. I couldn’t really believe it. “Two weeks ago I couldn’t believe they were kidnapped,” Ms Mizrahi, who lives in Vancouver, told CBC.
“I’ve been crying since I found out. I can’t wait for her to come home,” she added to CTV.
Ms Mizrahi said she did not know what condition her aunt was in as she suffered from Parkinson’s disease and needed oxygen to sleep.
The woman also doesn’t know what happened to her uncle Oded Lifshitz (83), who was also taken hostage by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip. Since she hasn’t been able to talk to her aunt yet, she doesn’t know if she was with her partner.
The two octogenarians were described as peace activists. In particular, Oded Lifshitz organized the transport of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Israeli hospitals so that they could be treated, his grandson Daniel Lifshitz told Portal.
Yocheved Lifshitz was released at the same time as Nurit Cooper, 79, with the support of the Red Cross, which organized transport. It is the second time Hamas has released hostages, following the release of an American woman and her daughter on Friday.