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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas connected Thursday released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to see a parent and her 2 children who person agelong been feared dormant and had travel to embody the nation's agony pursuing the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
The remains were said to beryllium of Shiri Bibas and her 2 children, Ariel and Kfir, arsenic good arsenic Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 erstwhile helium was abducted. Kfir, who was 9 months aged erstwhile helium was taken, was the youngest captive. Hamas has said each 4 were killed on with their guards successful Israeli airstrikes.
"Our hearts — the hearts of an full federation — prevarication successful tatters," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said successful a statement. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my caput and inquire for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you connected that unspeakable day. Forgiveness for not bringing you location safely.”
The militants displayed 4 achromatic coffins connected a signifier successful the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including a ample 1 depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arsenic a vampire. Thousands of people, including ample numbers of masked and equipped militants, looked connected arsenic the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles earlier being driven to Israeli forces.
The subject planned to clasp a tiny ceremonial ceremony, astatine the petition of the families, earlier transferring the bodies to a laboratory for ceremonial recognition utilizing DNA, a process that could instrumentality up to 2 days. Only past volition the families beryllium fixed the last notification.
Israeli channels did not broadcast the handover. In Hostage Square successful Tel Aviv, wherever Israelis person gathered to ticker the merchandise of surviving hostages, a ample surface showed a compilation of photos and videos of Lifshitz and the Bibas family, including a chuckling babe Kfir and the household dressed up successful Batman costumes.
Israelis person celebrated the instrumentality of 24 surviving hostages successful caller weeks nether a tenuous ceasefire that paused implicit 15 months of war. But the handover connected Thursday was a grim reminder of those who died successful captivity arsenic the talks starring up to the truce dragged connected for implicit a year.
It could besides supply impetus for negotiations connected the 2nd signifier of the ceasefire that person hardly begun. The archetypal signifier is acceptable to extremity astatine the opening of March.
Infant was the youngest taken hostage
Kfir Bibas was conscionable 9 months old, a red-headed babe with a toothless smile, erstwhile militants stormed into the family’s location connected Oct. 7, 2023. His member Ariel was 4. Video changeable that time showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the 2 boys arsenic militants led them into Gaza.
Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and released this period aft 16 months successful captivity.
Relatives successful Israel person clung to hope, marking Kfir’s archetypal and 2nd birthdays and his brother's fifth. The Bibas household said successful a connection Wednesday that it would hold for “identification procedures” earlier acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.
Supporters passim Israel person worn orangish successful solidarity with the household — a notation to 2 boys' reddish hairsbreadth — and a fashionable children’s opus was written successful their honor.
Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, on with his woman Yocheved, who was freed during a weeklong ceasefire successful November 2023. Oded was a writer who campaigned for the designation of Palestinian rights and bid betwixt Arabs and Jews.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages, including immoderate 30 children, successful the Oct. 7 attack, successful which they besides killed immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
More than fractional the hostages, and astir of the women and children, person been released successful ceasefire agreements oregon different deals. Israeli forces person rescued 8 and person recovered dozens of bodies of radical killed successful the archetypal onslaught oregon who died successful captivity.
It's not wide if the ceasefire volition last
Hamas is acceptable to escaped six surviving hostages connected Saturday successful speech for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and says it volition merchandise 4 much bodies adjacent week, completing the ceasefire's archetypal phase. That volition permission the militants with immoderate 60 hostages, each men, astir fractional of whom are believed to beryllium dead.
Hamas has said it won't merchandise the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a afloat Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the afloat backing of the Trump administration, says helium is committed to destroying Hamas' subject and governing capacities and returning each the hostages, goals wide seen arsenic mutually exclusive.
Trump's connection to region immoderate 2 cardinal Palestinians from Gaza truthful the U.S. tin ain and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.
Hamas could beryllium reluctant to escaped much hostages if it believes the warfare volition resume with the extremity of annihilating the radical oregon forcibly transferring Gaza's population.
Israel's subject violative killed implicit 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not separate betwixt civilians and combatants successful its records. Israel says it has killed implicit 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The violative destroyed immense areas of Gaza, reducing full neighborhoods to fields of rubble and bombed-out buildings. At its height, the warfare displaced 90% of Gaza's population. Many person returned to their homes to find thing near and nary mode of rebuilding.
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.
