‘Her spirit is still there’: B.C. woman reaches aunt in Israel, released from Hamas captivity

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, is one of just four hostages released by Hamas since its Oct. 7 incursion on Israel, which killed some 1,400 people, most of whom were civilians.

It’s been more than 24 hours since British Columbia’s Rutie Mizrahi learned her elderly aunt — taken hostage by Hamas after its initial attack on Israel — had been set free and returned home.

In that time, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz has taken visits from family and received medical treatment. Mizrahi reached her by phone Tuesday morning and described her as “tired and exhausted, but her spirit is still there.”

“It was just great telling her how happy I am and how much I love her,” the Vancouver resident told Global News.

“I did not talk to her about what happened to her when she was in Gaza … I’m sure she talks about it so much and she really needs to recover.”

Lifshitz is one of just four hostages released by Hamas since its Oct. 7 incursion on Israel, which killed some 1,400 people, most of whom were civilians. The militant group — designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, Canada and others — has kidnapped more than 200 people, including Lifshitz’ husband and Mizrahi’s uncle, Oded.

The condition and precise whereabouts of the 83-year-old, a veteran journalist and peacekeeper, are unknown.

Lifshitz, who requires both medication and overnight oxygen, was released along with another elderly woman to Red Cross in Egypt on Monday. In an interview from the hospital after her release, translated into English by her daughter, Lifshitz recounted being taken on the back of a motorbike and “hit by sticks.”

“They shot at our homes, hit people. They kidnapped some of them, like me,” Lifshitz said in Hebrew. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been through hell.”