Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including a mother and her two children, who had long been feared dead and symbolised national grief after the October 7, 2023, attack.
The remains were identified as those of Shiri Bibas and her children, Ariel and Kfir, along with 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz. Kfir, just nine months old when abducted, was the youngest hostage. Hamas claimed that all four, along with their guards, were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
“Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as reported by the Associated Press. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”
The militants displayed the bodies in black coffins on a stage in Gaza, surrounded by banners, including one depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. Thousands, including masked and armed militants, watched as the coffins were placed in Red Cross vehicles and transported to Israeli forces.
The Israeli military planned a small funeral ceremony, per the families’ wishes, before transferring the bodies to a lab for DNA confirmation, a process expected to take up to two days before final notification to the families.
Israeli channels did not air the handover. Meanwhile, in Hostage Square, Tel Aviv, where Israelis have gathered to witness hostage releases, a large screen displayed photos and videos of Lifshitz and the Bibas family, including footage of baby Kfir laughing and the family dressed in Batman costumes.
In recent weeks, Israelis have celebrated the release of 24 living hostages under a fragile ceasefire that temporarily halted over 15 months of war. However, Thursday’s handover was a somber reminder of those who perished in captivity as negotiations for a truce dragged on for more than a year.
The development may also push forward talks for the second phase of the ceasefire, which has barely begun, with the first phase set to conclude in early March.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Nine-month-old Kfir Bibas, a red-haired infant with a toothless smile, was taken by militants when they raided his family’s home on October 7, 2023. His four-year-old brother, Ariel, was also abducted. Their father, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and was released this month after being held for 16 months.
Relatives in Israel held onto hope, celebrating Kfir’s first and second birthdays and Ariel’s fifth. On Wednesday, the Bibas family stated they would wait for official identification procedures before accepting reports of their deaths. Across Israel, supporters have worn orange to honor the boys’ red hair, and a children’s song was written in their memory.
Benjamin Netanyahu Vows To Dismantle Hamas’ Military
However, Hamas plans to release six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and has announced it will return four more bodies next week, marking the end of the ceasefire’s first phase. This will leave Hamas with about 60 hostages, all men, with nearly half believed to be deceased.
Hamas has stated that it will not release the remaining captives unless a permanent ceasefire is reached and Israel fully withdraws. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed by the Trump administration, has vowed to dismantle Hamas’ military and governing infrastructure while securing the return of all hostages—objectives widely seen as conflicting.
A proposal from Trump to relocate around 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and allow the U.S. to rebuild and control the area has added further uncertainty to the ceasefire. While Netanyahu has welcomed the idea, Palestinians and Arab nations have universally rejected it.
Hamas may hesitate to release more hostages if it believes the war will resume with the aim of destroying the group or forcibly displacing Gaza’s population.
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