(Day 508) Swords of Iron – “Bibas Lifshitz Funerals”

Chaim starts out by telling his viewers that he is at Kibbutz Nir Oz for the funeral of Oded Lifchitz, whose coffin had already arrived by the time he started filming, and the coffins of Shiri Bibas and her two baby children, Ariel and Kfir, will be coming the next day.

Chaim says that everyone at this event is very sad and bereaved, but also very strong and determined to deal with the problem, and he says that the whole free world stands with them.

Chaim also talks about the Bibas family, noting that Shiri has a sister who survived the massacre on October 7th and of course her husband also survived and was recently released from captivity in Gaza. He also says that the Nir Oz community suffered large numbers of residents killed in the attack, in part because it took the IDF several hours to arrive in force. Until larger units could be deployed, individual off-duty reservists did what they could to hold back the attack with whatever weapons and ammunition they had with them.

The scene then shifts to the announcement by IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who says that the forensic evidence suggests the Bibas babies were strangled to death by someone with their bare hands, then lacerated with rocks and other shrapnel to make it appear that they were killed in an Israeli air strike.

The scene shifts back to Chaim at the funeral, as he says that he knows the people of the free world will support Kibbutz Nir Oz and will come to help them rebuild their community.

In this context, he quotes Psalms 57:1; Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

Chaim concludes by showing a man from the kibbutz being interviewed and talking about the “irony” that Oded Lifchitz was an activist for co-existance with the Palestinians and helped the people living in Gaza in many ways, and he was one of those who were kidnapped and murdered by people from Gaza, possibly including people who he might have helped at one time or another. Chaim says that there definitely was a failure on Israel’s part to take the threats of terrorism from Gaza seriously, and those lessons will be learned and those mistakes will not be repeated and Nir Oz will rise from the ashes, as will all of Israel.