Hamas said it will release the bodies of four hostages, including Bibas children, on Thursday, and six hostages on Saturday
Hamas said Tuesday it will release the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including the group, KFIR and two of the smallest people from Ariel Bibas.
Khalil al-Hayya, head of the group's negotiating team, said in a statement that the group will also release six living hostages on Saturday, rather than the expected three hostages.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Tuesday that an agreement was reached on “four hostages killed” during negotiations in Cairo, and the “six living hostages” will be handed over on Thursday, which will be released on Saturday.
It added: “The additional four hostages killed are expected to be handed over to Israel next week.”
The hostages and missing families forum later Tuesday called six Israeli hostages released on Saturday.
“This Saturday, the hostages and missing families forum welcomed the return of Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu,” the forum said in a statement.
“Although we are very pleased with their homecoming, we are shocked by the news that the bodies of four loved ones will return this Thursday,” the statement added.
The forum said civilians Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu were both held in Gaza for about a decade, and were taken hostage after crossing the border into the enclave in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
A spokesperson for the forum said all families of the released and living hostages had been notified.
Israel is expected to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israelis, just like in the past few weeks.
The most obvious signs indicate that Bibas' children were nine months and four years old when they were kidnapped in October 2023.
Israel has not confirmed their deaths and has not commented on Hamas' announcement.
An Egyptian's knowledge of the matter confirmed to CNN that talks involving Egypt, Kathari, Israel and U.S. officials have been successful and Hamas will release the rest of the hostages from the first phase of the armistice on Saturday.
Hamas claimed in November 2023 that Kfir and Ariel Bibas killed their mother in an Israeli air strike and released a videotape of their father Yarden, who was also detained He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the death of the death of the Israeli Prime Minister.
At the time, an Israeli military spokesperson called the video a “psychological horror”, but the soldiers told relatives that they might not be alive.
Hamas released Yarden Bibas, Alive on February 1.
The Bibas family, especially KFIR, has become one of the most well-known victims of the October 7 terrorist attack.
Photos of Kfir have been shown on numerous posters calling for the release of hostages exhibited in Israel and around the world over the past 15 months. In it, the red-haired baby boy is holding a pink elephant toy and looks at the camera with a toothless smile.
Hamas' announcement was made on the same day by Israel, saying it would begin talks in the second phase of the Gaza hostage consultation agreement.
Foreign Secretary Gideon Saar said negotiations could begin “this week” after discussions with “our American friends.”
As stated in the original agreement, he worked to reach an agreement on the 42nd day of the truce and said the possibility of a long-term agreement was “option”.
CNN's Eugenia Yosef and Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to the report.
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