Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including which says there are three members of the Bibas family, who became a symbol of the cruelty of the terrorist attacks of the Palestinian militant group to the terrorist attack against Israel.
Among the bodies that are believed to be delivered by the Palestinian militant group were those of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the two youngest captives seized in the attack that began the Israel-Famas War.
His mother’s body, Shiri Bibas, was also delivered, together with that of Oded Lifshitz, 84, according to the Missing Families and Families forum, which represents the families of which they are still in captivity of Hamas.
The Defense Security Agency of Israel and the Israel Security Agency said the bodies were being transferred to them after being received by the Red Cross in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Israel says that bodies must undergo forensic evidence before the authorities can confirm their identities.
Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the children and the husband of Shiri Bibas, was released on February 1 under the first phase of the high fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. He was held in a different part of Gaza than his wife and children, according to the hostages who were with him in captivity and since then they have been released.
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, announced Tuesday that the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas would be among those who returned this week.
He also announced that six of the remaining living captives would be launched this Saturday, including two that have been held in the Gaza Strip for approximately a decade.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that he had reached an agreement on the releases during the negotiations held in Cairo last week, but refrained from appointing any of the hostages.
Israel had been prepared for a long time to learn the fate of Kfir Bibas, who He was just 9 months when he was kidnapped with his parents and his brother Ariel, who was 4 years old at that time, of his Kibutz, Nir Oz.
At the end of 2023, Hamas said that Shiri Bibas and the children had been killed by Israeli bombings. Israel has not yet confirmed its deaths.
On Tuesday, the Bibas family said it was “in agitation” about the announcement of Hamas leader about the return of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
“Until we receive a definitive confirmation, our trip is not over,” the family said in a statement.
The Families of Hosages and Missing also appointed the six live hostages scheduled for its launch on Saturday: Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham, Hisham al-Sayed and Asa Mengistu.
“While we feel great relief in his return home, we are devastated by the news that the remains of four of our loved ones will be returned this Thursday,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cohen, 27, Shem Tov, 22, and Wenkert, 23, were kidnapped from a music festival, while Shoham was taken from the Kibbutz Beeri community, according to the group.
The Al-Sayed and Mengistu civilians have been held separately in Gaza for approximately a decade after they were kidnapped while crossing the border in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were captured in the October 7 attack, according to Israeli officials. The subsequent military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the local Ministry of Health of Hamas, and forcibly displaced most of its population of 2.3 million.
Saturday’s delivery, if it succeeds, will mean that four hostages, all allegedly dead, are still in Gaza of the group of 33 scheduled for its launch under the first phase of the high fire agreement.
The fragile agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas on January 19 and has so far remained on the way with the help of Qatar and Egyptian mediators, despite the first derailment threats.
During the first phase of the agreement, which will last a 42 -day truce, Hamas has increasing 19 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Last week, Hamas reversed a warning that he issued previously to indefinitely postpone the hostages of the hostages after both parties accused the other of violating the agreement.
The agreement was also eclipsed by President Donald Trump’s call to move the Palestinians of Gaza away so that he can become a farm in front of the sea.
The negotiations on the second stage of the Alto El Fuego Agreement, originally scheduled to begin on February 4, will consider ensuring the release of the remaining 64 hostages and supervising the post -war administration.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that an Israeli team had traveled to Cairo, while the security cabinet cleared a high -level Israeli delegation to travel to Qatar to start conversations in the second phase.
“It will happen this week,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, journalists in Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
“If we will see that there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon to reach an agreement (then), we will make this framework longer,” he added.
