Hamas returns 4 Israeli hostage bodies, including 2 children, to be held in Gaza

Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, allegedly including a mother and her two children, who have long been worried about death and have embodied the pain of the United States after the October 7, 2023 attack.

The remains are said to be Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 years old when he was kidnapped. Kfir was arrested nine months old and was the youngest prisoner. Hamas said all four people were killed in Israeli air strikes.

The Red Cross vehicle left the switching location of the Gaza Strip with four black coffins on it. Each coffin has a small picture of the hostage.

Hamas handed over the body under a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and received support from the United States and mediation from Qatar and Egypt last month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a short video statement that Thursday would be “a very difficult day for the Israeli state. A frustrating, a sad day.”

Hundreds gathered in the winter before the handover of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Armed Hamas militants in black and camouflaged uniforms toured the area.

A militant stood next to a man, next to a poster on a coffin wrapped in an Israeli flag. He had no legs on the ground with tree roots, suggesting that the land belonged to Palestinians.

The Bibas family, including their father, Yarden, was kidnapped by a series of communities near Gaza, Kibbutz Nir Oz, occupied on October 7 by Hamas-led attackers.

Hamas said in November 2023 that the boy and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli authorities never confirmed their deaths, and even at the last minute, some people refused to accept their deaths.

“Shiri and the children became symbols,” said Nir Oz resident Yiftach Cohen. Nir Oz residents died in the October 7 attack, killed or Kidnapping. “I still hope they are alive.”

Father posted earlier

This month, prisoners’ hostage exchanges were earlier. But the family said their “journey is not over” this week until they finally confirmed what happened to the boy and mother.

Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “We woke up for all of us a difficult morning. One morning made the cruel acts of our enemies and our firm war against them.” Justice until they are destroyed from the earth.” X social media platform post.

At the handover site, a large poster was hung up. Description Netanyahu As a vampire, he is described as a war criminal.

After handover, the body will be moved to the coffin with the Israeli flag flying on it, which the Rabbi army will provide at a short ceremony. They will then be taken to Israel to the National Forensic Institute to determine that the process may take several hours or even days.

Only after identification can they be formally declared for their death and funeral.

Identity has not been confirmed yet

The handover marks the first return of the body during the current agreement and Israel will not confirm its identity until a full DNA examination is completed.

Despite both sides of the ceasefire violation, the fragile agreement that came into effect on January 19 has been stuck since a series of hostage exchanges between Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel in Gaza.

Netanyahu faces criticism from his far-right alliance allies agreeing to the deal, with some in Israel feeling rewarded Hamas and leaving militant groups in Gaza.

However, continuous investigations have expressed widespread support for the ceasefire among the public, and thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to demand that the government stick to the deal until all the rest of the hostages are returned.

According to Israeli Tallies, Israel invaded coastal enclaves after an attack on Israeli communities led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the subsequent Israeli military campaign killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, destroyed many of its buildings and left most of the population homeless.

More hostages to be released

The bodies on Thursday will return six live hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians, expected to be women and minors detained by Israeli forces during the war.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages in the first phase of the agreement in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, aiming to open up to end the Gaza war.

So far, 19 kinds of Israeli hostages have been released, as well as five Thais who returned in unplanned handovers.

Regarding the second phase of negotiations, it is expected to cover the return of the remaining 60 hostages, believed to be less than half of the hostages alive and completely withdraw from Israeli forces to withdraw from the Gaza Strip to end the war from the next few days.