The Shin Bet announced on Sunday afternoon that an initial investigation shows that it is highly likely Iranian elements were involved in the sending of a bouquet to the home of a hostage held in Gaza. The investigation is still ongoing.

Over the weekend, a wreath of flowers, the type usually placed on kevarim, was left outside the home of the family of Liri Albag, a 19-year-old female hostage being held in Gaza. According to hostages who were released in November, Albag was alive and was being forced to cook and clean for Gazan families.

A note attached to the bouquet said: “Yehi Zichra Baruch. Everyone knows that the country is more important.”

The police launched an investigation into the incident. One of the clues of Iranian involvement was the IP address left on the website of the flower store from where the bouquet was ordered.

Channel 13 News reported further details of the investigation: “The bouquet was ordered from fake phone numbers that don’t exist and at first the name of the person who ordered it was ‘Brozovsky.’ After the flower shop asked to confirm the order, ‘Brozovsky’ disappeared for a day and the correspondence was then transferred to email. The name of the person who sent the email appeared as Ran Gvili, the name of a police officer who was killed battling terrorists on October 7th and whose body was taken hostage by Hamas.”

Iranian agents often attempt to interfere in Israeli society and sow conflict between various sectors. The bouquet is apparently an attempt to cause discord between the small minority of Israelis who are calling for a hostage deal at any price and those who are strongly opposed to such a move.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)