Hamas is set to hand over the remains of four hostages on Thursday, including members of the Bibas family, whose abduction has become a symbol of Israel’s ongoing hostage crisis since the war in Gaza erupted.
This marks the first instance of Hamas returning bodies since its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which ignited the conflict.
The Palestinian militant group announced that the remains of Shiri Bibas, her two young sons—Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months—as well as another hostage, Oded Lifshitz, would be transferred to Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Video footage from the October 7 attack, captured and aired by Hamas, showed the mother and her two children being taken from their home near the Gaza border.
Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, was also abducted separately but was released in a prior hostage-prisoner exchange on February 1.
The return of their bodies is part of the initial phase of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on January 19 after over 15 months of intense conflict in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the day as one of immense sorrow for the country, calling it “heartbreaking.”
As part of the ceasefire deal, Hamas has so far released 19 Israeli hostages in exchange for over 1,100 Palestinian prisoners through Red Cross-mediated negotiations.
Of the 14 remaining hostages set for release under this phase, Israeli authorities claim eight are already deceased.
The Bibas family’s ordeal has deeply resonated with the Israeli public, symbolizing the pain and uncertainty surrounding the hostage crisis.
While Hamas previously claimed the family was killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the war, Israel has not verified this claim, and their relatives remain sceptical.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum acknowledged receiving distressing news about the Bibas family’s deaths.
However, the family has stated they will wait for official confirmation after proper identification procedures.
Although Israeli officials have not publicly disclosed the names of those being returned, Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the families had been informed.
Meanwhile, forensic experts at the National Forensic Medicine Institute in Tel Aviv have been mobilized to swiftly identify the remains.
Earlier this week, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to return the bodies of eight hostages in two separate transfers over the coming days, alongside the release of six living Israeli captives this Saturday.
The hostages forum identified them as Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu.
Despite occasional accusations of ceasefire violations, the truce in Gaza has largely held.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated that negotiations for the next phase of the agreement—potentially a more permanent end to the war—would begin this week.
Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP that the group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single exchange during the next phase, though he did not specify how many were still in captivity.
During the October 7 attack, Hamas and allied militants seized 251 people, with Israeli authorities reporting that 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 believed to be dead.
The attack left 1,211 people dead, mostly civilians, based on Israeli figures.
In response, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 48,297 deaths, the majority of whom were civilians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.