Gaza Hostage Survivor Criticized by Likud Candidate for Anti-Netanyahu Remarks

A Likud Knesset candidate, Itzik Bonzel, who lost his son in the "Swords of Iron" war, posted a harsh Facebook message on Monday attacking released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz. Lifshitz had stated in an interview with "Channel 13" that "Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) did not bring back any hostages, Miriam Adelson bought us from Trump, and if this government remains after the elections, it is a disaster for the country."

Bonzel, ranked 29th on the Likud list, responded to Lifshitz's comments by writing, "I wish there was a way to return you to Hamas's hands." He added that Lifshitz's rescuer was not Miriam Adelson, but "hundreds of heroes who went into the inferno to bring you back alive and never returned." He emphasized that "our sons paid with their lives and the blood of every home in Israel so that you could sit safely in your home." Bonzel called her words "pathetic, infuriating, and disconnected" and stated that "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."

Bonzel continued, "I have never written in this style, but I wish there was a way to turn back the clock and return you to Hamas's hands, because in the face of this display of ingratitude, it seems you simply did not deserve for our dear and holy sons to sacrifice their lives for you." He concluded that "silence in the face of such a low point is an unforgivable sin."