‘We fought for peace, were attacked by those we helped’: Yocheved Lifshitz parts from Oded
 
Family, friends and the president on Tuesday eulogized Oded Lifshitz, the 83-year-old peace activist who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz and slain in captivity, with his wife lamenting that he was killed by those he sought to help.
 
Lifshitz was laid to rest days after his body was returned from Gaza as part of a ceasefire-hostage release deal. He was buried in Nir Oz, a community he helped found 70 years ago, which was completely devastated in the Hamas-led assault with 117 of its 400 residents either killed or kidnapped.
 
Thousands of Israelis lined the route of the funeral procession to the kibbutz.
 
Lifshitz, who was shot in the hand and then taken hostage by Hamas terrorists along with his wife, Yocheved, from their kibbutz safe room on October 7, was murdered in captivity by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad shortly after being captured, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
 
He was described by all as a man who loved playing piano, tending his cactus garden and traveling with Yocheved or ‘Yochke’, his wife of 63 years, often along with their grandchildren.
 
Yocheved Lifshitz, 86, who was released from captivity two weeks after being taken hostage separately from her husband, said their abduction and his death in captivity had deeply shocked her.
 
“Our abduction and your death have shaken me to the core,” said Lifshitz at her husband’s funeral. “We fought all through the years for social justice, for peace. To my sorrow, we were hit by a terrible blow by those we helped on the other side. I stand here staggered to see the number of graves, and the terrible destruction of our community that was completely abandoned on October 7.”
 
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Israeli official says Hamas has 3 options: Extend ceasefire by releasing more hostages, go into exile, or face renewed war
 
Israel is expecting the four remaining slain hostages from the first phase of the hostage deal to be released by Hamas on Thursday, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The official adds that there are ongoing efforts to move up the release.
 
Once that final release of hostages envisioned in the first phase happens, says the official, Hamas has three choices. It can agree to Israel’s terms — that it disarm, that its leaders go into exile, and that it give up any civil control over Gaza — and then Israel will move to the second phase of the deal, which would see all hostages released and the war come to an end.
 
Hamas can also continue releasing hostages and extend the ceasefire.
 
Or, says the official, Hamas can choose the end of the ceasefire, which would mean a return to all-out war. “It would be different,” says the official. “A new defense minister, a new chief of staff, all the weapons we need, and full legitimacy, one hundred percent, from the Trump administration.”
 
“The gates of hell will be opened, as they say.”
 
After the release of the bodies on Thursday, says the official, Israel will give Hamas some time to decide what it wants to do. But if there isn’t another release of hostages by next Saturday, March 8, Israel will consider the ceasefire over.
 
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Hamas hostage ceremonies angered US, spurring pressure for plan to push group out
 
The elaborate propaganda-filled hostage-release ceremonies that Hamas has been holding throughout the first phase of the ceasefire have undercut the terror group’s chances to remain in power in Gaza, two international diplomats told The Times of Israel.
 
Hamas has sought to use the ceremonies to demonstrate that it remains in control of the coastal enclave after over 15 months of war with Israel. Israel and others have denounced the displays as “humiliating” and demanded they stop before any more prisoners are released in exchange for hostages.
 
Hostages have been paraded on stages surrounded by heavily armed masked gunmen, given “release certificates” and “gift bags,” and made to wave to crowds of civilians brought in to watch the spectacle and thank their captors. On Saturday, two hostages not set to be freed in the current phase of the deal were brought to a handover in a vehicle that parked close to the stage, and filmed in a propaganda video.
 
The stages have been festooned with posters of slain Hamas military leaders, and slogans vowing that the terror group would remain in control, some even mocked US President Donald Trump’s plans to relocate Gazans. Similar ceremonies have been held for the release of the bodies of slain hostages.
 
A senior Arab diplomat and a senior European Union diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity this week said that the performances have led the Trump administration to massively ratchet up its pressure on its Arab allies to advance a plan for the post-war management of Gaza that sees Hamas removed from power.
 
“This was something that the Arab states wanted before but were resigned to the fact that it wasn’t possible, given that Israel had tried to defeat Hamas for over a year and couldn’t succeed,” the EU diplomat said.
 
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Witkoff insisted that the second phase is still a US objective, but envisions an end to the war that Netanyahu is not prepared to accept, even in exchange for all remaining hostages.
 
The Trump administration is adapting to Jerusalem’s position and has already been moving away from the framework drawn up by former US president Joe Biden. Witkoff has repeatedly trashed the proposal’s third phase over its “unrealistic” five-year reconstruction timeline.
 
But the break from the Biden plan has extended further, with Witkoff’s decision to rework the terms of phase one.
 
He also appeared to alter the terms of phase two, saying Sunday that it is “much about two things — a permanent ceasefire and the fact that Hamas cannot be allowed to come back into the government.”
 
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Egypt said to reject Lapid’s proposal for it to administer Gaza for years to come
 
Egypt rejects a proposal presented by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid today that would see Cairo taking over management of the Gaza Strip for 8 years, reports the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya network.
 
Egyptian sources tell the outlet that Palestinians will run the Strip, and that “Egypt will not be led by an attempt to administer Gaza.”