20
Feb
Feb
HAMAS HANDS OVER BODIES OF FOUR ISRAELI HOSTAGES, INCLUDING BIBAS CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHER
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Nicolas Adekeye / 2 weeks
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- 2 min read
Hamas has 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 bodies are said to include those of Shiri Bibas, 32, and her sons Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, over 16 months ago. The fourth body is believed to be that of Oded Lifshitz, 83, who was kidnapped along with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yocheved was released by Hamas on October 24, 2023. Ahead of the handover, Hamas militants placed four black caskets on a stage in the southern city of Khan Younis, behind which was a propaganda backdrop with slogans in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The caskets were first handed to the Red Cross and then transferred to the Israeli military inside Gaza. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said hearts across the country “lie in tatters,” and asked for forgiveness on behalf of the government for failing to protect those captured on October 7. “Agony. Pain. There are no words,” he wrote in a post on X. The bodies will be taken to the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for forensic examination. The final identification is expected to come in the following days. Yarden Bibas, the father of Ariel and Kfir, was released by Hamas earlier this month after 484 days of captivity. He was one of the 19 Israeli hostages freed alive under the January 2025 ceasefire deal. In a statement published shortly after his release, Yarden urged the world to “continue doing everything possible” to ensure all hostages return home. “Sadly, my family hasn’t returned to me yet. They are still there. My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark. Thanks to you, I was brought back – help me bring the light back to my life,” he said.