Oded Lifshitz – Was Netanyahu Responsible?

All Israelis were mourning on Thursday, February 13, the day Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children and journalist-peace activist Oded Lifshitz, all from Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza.

The late Oded Lifshitz at his kibbutz Nir Oz (Photo: Times of Israel)

I knew Oded since he used to visit us at the Tel Aviv offices of the Israeli peace monthly New Outlook, which was based on Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue, “I & Thou”. The editor at the time was Chaim Shur who had been his editor at the left-wing daily Al Hamishmar, which featured on its masthead “For Zionism, Socialism and the Brotherhood of Nations”. And Oded used to write articles for us, in defense of Bedouin rights in the Negev and in favor of Israeli-Palestinian peace. We all had the same background, the Hashomer Hatzair socialist-Zionist youth movement. Oded as one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Chaim as one of the founders of Kibbutz Shoval in the Negev, and I as a member of a garin (group) that had joined Kibbutz Barkai, 3 ½ kilometers from the West Bank border.

A Life of Struggle

Senior political commentator Nahum Barnea of Yediot Ahronot also knew him. They served together in the same paratrooper unit beginning in 1964, and he was a close friend of the family. It was from Nahum’s column that I originally learned that Oded was a hostage. On Friday he wrote that “his career was filled with struggles: founding a small kibbutz in the Negev, leading it during its struggles for survival, struggling against the political and economic establishment of his movement, Hashomer Hatzair, struggling against the deportation of the Bedouins in the Rafiah Salient, struggling on behalf of his Palestinian neighbors in the Gaza Strip.” This included bringing sick children from Gaza to Israeli hospitals within the framework of “The Road to Recovery” project. Nahum was in constant touch with Oded’s wife Yocheved who was the first hostage released on October 23rd . And he had also been exchanging texts with him on October 7th, until the communication stopped.

I had hoped that he would survive, for the sake of his family, and also so he could speak out about what he felt concerning the current tragic war. His voice would have had a powerful, moral impact. But sadly that was not to be.

Was Netanyahu Responsible?

In an interview on CNN, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid accused Netanyahu of being responsible for the fact that he did not return alive during the first cease-fire/hostage deal in November 2023.

I spoke to @BeckyCNN about the return of the bodies of four hostages who were held by Hamas and about whether phase two of the deal could happen. Watch here: pic.twitter.com/w3ziI65li2

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 20, 2025

What happened then was that Hamas decided to change the agreement and instead of releasing more women and children said they would release some of the older male prisoners. Oded Lifshitz was on that list. Netanyahu refused to accept this since he was looking for an excuse to resume the war which he felt would guarantee he could remain prime minister. He was backed by almost the entire security cabinet including former IDF Chief of Staff and leader of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz. The only exception was another former Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, who felt Israel should accept whatever was possible. Eisenkot’s son, Master Sergeant Gal Meir Eisenkot, would later fall in battle in Gaza.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued an angry rebuttal, claiming that Lifshitz was no longer alive at the time. To date it is not clear exactly when he was killed by his Islamic Jihad captors. What is clear is that many of the hostages who died or were killed would have been alive today if the war had not been resumed then.

What Oded Lifshitz felt about Netanyahu

We do know what Oded felt about Netanyahu since the day after his body was returned Ha’aretz reprinted a column he had published in the Hebrew edition in 2019 titled “Protector of Israel he is not.” In it he wrote that “During his unbearably long tenure, Netanyahu failed to halt the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, brought us back to square one, with a sense of missed opportunity and a bloody and despairing draw. Netanyahu, the “protector of Israel,” ignored a Hamas offer of a long-term hudna or truce, which might have prevented the last an unnecessary round of fighting.  When it was over, Netanyahu allowed money to be transferred to Hamas terrorists.”

He also wrote that “since the start of Netanyahu’s current term, the Arab peace proposal has been sitting on his desk, and there won’t be anything better: the establishment of a Palestinian state in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and Arab states. A leader who really cares about Israel’s security would have brought us to this desired destination years ago. Netanyahu simply ignored the proposal. The grade he gets for this is f.”

Oded Lifshitz’ family is continuing to fight for the release of the remaining hostages, and still believes that peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors is the goal we have to work for.