A London-based filmmaker whose father was taken hostage from Israel by Hamas said it would be a “miracle” if he was released alive.
Sharone Lifschitz, 53, said she thought a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas meant there was a “good chance” hostages would be released, but added that she had no knowledge of her father’s condition.
Ms Lifschitz’s mother, Yocheved, was among the first hostages to be freed by Hamas, but her 84-year-old father, Oded, remains in captivity.
They were both taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel following the attacks on October 7 2023.
Discussing the hostages, Ms Lifschitz, who has lived in London for more than 30 years, told the PA news agency: “We’re so desperate to have them back that it feels in so many ways we remain on fight or flight.”
Asked if she thought the ceasefire would lead to the release of her father, the filmmaker said: “I think there is a good chance that it would, I hope so.
“Our focus at the moment is on making sure that the deal doesn’t get sabotaged by the fanatics on both sides.
“My father coming back would be the closing of a circle.
“If he is alive, that would be a miracle and if he’s not then at least we will have him to bury him and understand where we are.”
Sharone Lifschitz’s parents Oded and Yocheved (Sharone Lifschitz/PA)
She added: “This weekend, we have two women from my kibbutz and two children that are due to be released.
“And as my mother said, if my father is alive, he is more concerned about their return than anything else.”
Ms Lifschitz was on a train to York to pick up a puppy when she first learned of the October 7 attacks.
“We arrived in York, and I called that woman, the breeder, and I said something like: ‘I think there’s a war in Israel. I don’t know if my parents are dead or alive. I can’t get hold of them. There are terrorists in my community and I can’t pick up a puppy’.
“We went back and the rest of the day is really in a haze for me, but I was just here in London trying desperately to figure out what’s happening in Israel.
“Looking at all the videos and trying to see who is alive and who is dead. And seeing people I knew all my life being taken hostage.”
Ms Lifschitz said she was told by hostages released in the first deal that her father was alive and had been shot in his safe room during the attacks.
She added: “We know that he survived in Gaza for the first few weeks and was in the same place with another hostage that returned to us since on the 48th day.
“So we have this knowledge that he did survive, that he was alive, but that’s almost 440 days ago.”
Ms Lifschitz said her mother, who was released on October 23 2023, returned “very much herself” and was “determined to fight for the other hostages”.
Discussing her mother, the filmmaker said: “I think that when the last hostage comes back, all the hostages will come back.
“My mum always says that when she closes her eyes, she’s back in the tunnels and that she’s there with the children of her friends and with her friends that are still there.
“She came back to find that so many people she loved are no longer with us.”
Ms Lifschitz said her father, who worked as a journalist, was “very loving” and that his family “misses him devastatingly”.
She added: “He caught the heart of so many over the last 15 months.
“I think it’s because he’s a warm person that really fought for a better future for the region.
“He really believed in our capacity as human beings to build bridges and work for a greater good.”
Ms Lifschitz said she did not think the ceasefire could bring a lasting peace, but should be the “first step” to a “sustainable future and a deal that sustains life”.