Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza, marking the first time the group has released deceased captives since October 7, 2023. The hostages included Shiri Bibas, aged 32, along with her sons Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel by Hamas-led militants over 16 months ago. The fourth body belonged to Oded Lifshitz, 83 years old, who was kidnapped along with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, from the same location. Yocheved was released by Hamas on October 24, 2023.
Before the handover, Hamas militants placed four black caskets on a stage in Khan Younis, with a Red Cross representative signing documents before the bodies were carried into waiting Red Cross vehicles. The bodies will be taken to the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for examination.
The Bibas children and their mother were claimed to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike by Hamas in November 2023, although Israel never confirmed their deaths. Yarden Bibas, the children's father, was released earlier this month after 484 days of captivity. The bodies of the hostages will undergo forensic examination.
The Bibas children, Ariel and Kfir, have become symbols of the October 7 terror attack, with their images featured in campaigns and protests worldwide. A video of the family's abduction and subsequent events has highlighted the brutality of the incident.
Yarden Bibas, in a statement after his release, urged for continued efforts to bring back all hostages. The run-up to the release of the bodies was marked by the Bibas family's anger at the Israeli Prime Minister's office for releasing names without approval.
The Lifshitz family expressed their emotions ahead of Oded's return, stating the challenging times they are facing after being informed of his inclusion in the hostages returning to Israel.
