‘For 502 days we hoped and prayed for a different ending’

Oded Lifshitz’s family issued a statement Wednesday night saying, “These are not easy times for us, after we were informed that our beloved Oded is on the list of deceased hostages who will return to Israel tomorrow, after being kidnapped alive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.” It also said, “For 502 days we hoped and prayed for a different ending, but until we receive absolute certainty, our journey will not end, and even after that we will continue to fight until the last hostage is returned. We ask the media and the public not to contact us at this time on the subject and to respect our privacy.”