Likud Candidate Slams Hamas Captive Survivor: 'Wish We Could Return You to Hamas'

Itzik Bonzel, father of Amit Bonzel who fell in the Gaza war and a candidate on the Likud party's Knesset list, launched a sharp attack on hostage survivor Yocheved Lifshitz. The response came after Lifshitz claimed in an interview that Prime Minister Netanyahu was not responsible for the release of hostages, attributing the effort instead to Miriam Adelson, who allegedly paid former President Trump $100 million to secure their freedom. Lifshitz also harshly criticized Netanyahu, stating his potential election victory would be a "disaster for this country" and warning Israel could become a "dictatorial and dark state."

Bonzel reacted on social media, directly addressing Lifshitz. "The ones who extracted you from the darkness of Gaza's tunnels were not Miriam Adelson, but hundreds of heroes who went into the inferno to bring you back alive, some of whom never returned," he wrote. "Our sons paid with their lives and the heart's blood of every home in Israel so you could sit safely in your home."

Bonzel escalated his rhetoric, stating, "I wish there was a way to turn back the clock and return you to Hamas." He described Lifshitz's words as a "display of ingratitude" that left him unmoved given the price paid by soldiers during the war. Bonzel added, "The hatred for Netanyahu has made you lose your mind, destroyed any trace of morality and shame, and trampled the honor of those who rescued you at the cost of their lives."