Israel’s Albag family is spooked and upset after receiving a funeral wreath for their daughter who they believe to be alive but captive in Gaza. The Shin Bet security agency suspects Iran sent a funeral bouquet to the family of hostage Liri Albag in an effort to rattle the family.
The bouquet was accompanied by a note, which said “May her memory be a blessing, we all know that the country is more important.” Albag’s family, devastated by the gesture, remains perplexed by the act while Albag herself, one of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, remains captive in Gaza.
The florist (Yaakov) who made the arrangement explained that the wreath had been ordered online. Despite not recognizing Liri Albag’s name as a hostage, he felt uneasy about delivering the wreath to her home. Yaakov delayed the delivery, attempted to contact the sender multiple times without success, and eventually communicated with them via email. The sender confirmed the delivery and insisted it was being sent to his own home. The mail said “Yes sir, I want you to deliver the wreath to me, as written in the online order.”
Roni Albag, Liri’s sister, informed the Walla news site that the family was unaware of the sender’s identity. Upon discovering the wreath, a local security officer promptly took it to the police station to shield the family from its contents.
Freed hostages released in the November truce report they saw Albag in November and that she was being moved from home to home forced to cook and clean. Israel thinks the wreath was a part of Iran’s psychological warfare.
