KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas on Thursday launched the our bodies of 4 Israeli hostages, mentioned to incorporate a mom and her two youngsters who’ve lengthy been feared lifeless and had come to embody the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, bloodbath by the militant group.
The stays had been presumed to be of Shiri Bibas and her two youngsters, Ariel and Kfir, in addition to Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he and about 250 others had been kidnapped that day. Kfir, who was 9 months outdated when he was taken, was the youngest captive. Hamas has mentioned all 4 had been killed together with their guards in Israeli airstrikes.
“Our hearts — the hearts of a whole nation — lie in tatters,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog mentioned in a press release. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and say sorry. Forgiveness for not defending you on that horrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you dwelling safely.”
The militants displayed 4 black coffins on a stage within the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, together with a big one depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. Hundreds of individuals, together with massive numbers of masked and armed militants, seemed on because the coffins had been loaded onto Crimson Cross autos earlier than being pushed to Israeli forces.
The army held a small funeral ceremony, on the request of the households, earlier than transferring the our bodies to a laboratory in Israel for formal identification utilizing DNA, a course of that would take as much as two days.
Lifshitz’ household later mentioned his stays had been formally recognized.
“We had hoped and prayed a lot for a unique end result,” they mentioned in a press release. “Now we are able to mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been lacking from us since October 7.”
Israelis have celebrated the return of 24 residing hostages in current weeks beneath a tenuous cease-fire that paused over 15 months of battle. However the handover on Thursday was a grim reminder of those that died in captivity because the talks main as much as the truce dragged on for over a yr.
It might additionally present impetus for negotiations on the second stage of the cease-fire which have hardly begun. The primary part is about to finish in the beginning of March.
Toddler was the youngest taken hostage
Kfir Bibas was simply 9 months outdated, a red-headed toddler with a toothless smile, when militants stormed into the household’s dwelling on Oct. 7, 2023. His brother Ariel was 4. Video shot that day confirmed a terrified Shiri swaddling the 2 boys as militants led them into Gaza.
Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken individually and launched this month after 16 months in captivity.
Kinfolk in Israel have clung to hope, marking Kfir’s first and second birthdays and his brother’s fifth. The Bibas household mentioned in a press release Wednesday that it might await “identification procedures” earlier than acknowledging that their family members had been lifeless.
Supporters all through Israel have worn orange in solidarity with the household — a reference to the 2 boys’ purple hair — and a well-liked youngsters’s track was written of their honor.
Just like the Bibas household, Oded Lifshitz was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, alongside along with his spouse, Yocheved, who was freed throughout a weeklong cease-fire in November 2023. Oded was a journalist who campaigned for the popularity of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews.
Hamas-led militants kidnapped 251 hostages, together with some 30 youngsters, within the Oct. 7 assault, during which in addition they killed some 1,200 individuals, principally civilians.
Greater than half the hostages, and many of the girls and kids, have been launched in cease-fire agreements or different offers. Israeli forces have rescued eight and have recovered dozens of our bodies of individuals killed within the preliminary assault or who died in captivity.
It’s not clear if the cease-fire will final
Hamas is about to free six residing hostages on Saturday in trade for tons of of Palestinian prisoners, and says it is going to launch 4 extra our bodies subsequent week, finishing the cease-fire’s first part. That can go away the militants with some 60 hostages, all males, round half of whom are believed to be lifeless.
Hamas has mentioned it received’t launch the remaining captives with no lasting cease-fire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the complete backing of the Trump administration, says he’s dedicated to destroying Hamas’ army and governing capacities and returning all of the hostages, objectives extensively seen as mutually unique.
Trump’s proposal to take away some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can personal and rebuild it, an concept that has been welcomed by Netanyahu however universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab international locations, has thrown the cease-fire into additional doubt.
Hamas could possibly be reluctant to free extra hostages if it believes the battle will resume with the purpose of annihilating the group or forcibly transferring Gaza’s inhabitants.
Israel’s army offensive killed over 48,000 Palestinians, principally girls and kids, in response to Gaza’s Well being Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its information. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, with out offering proof.
The offensive destroyed huge areas of Gaza, decreasing whole neighborhoods to fields of rubble and bombed-out buildings. At its peak, the battle displaced 90% of Gaza’s inhabitants. Many have returned to their properties to search out nothing left and no means of rebuilding.
Jahjouh, Shurafa and Lidman write for the Related Press. Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv.
