The bodies of an Israeli mother and her two children have been handed over by Hamas.
Shiri Bibas, four-year-old Ariel, and nine-month-old Kfir were kidnapped from a kibbutz during the militant group’s October 2023 attack.
The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, was released on 1st February as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
The body of journalist and peace activist Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted, was also expected to be handed over.
Hamas has said they were all killed in Israeli airstrikes near the start of the war. The group has never provided evidence to back this up, while Israel has not confirmed the claims.
The Bibas family has become a powerful symbol of the 251 Israelis kidnapped on 7th October – not least because Kfir was the youngest taken.
The bodies were handed to the Red Cross in the Gaza city of Khan Younis on Thursday morning, 20th February.
Four black coffins were displayed on a stage before being put into vehicles and driven towards Israel as masked members of Hamas and other factions looked on.
Sky’s international correspondent, Diana Magnay, said Hamas used the handover as a “propaganda opportunity” and had tried to send the message: “This was caused by you, you should take responsibility for it.”
“They had missiles on the stage where the four coffins were, saying they were killed by US bombs,” Magnay said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also depicted as a vampire in an image behind the dead hostages.
At the family’s request, the Israeli military held a small funeral before the bodies were taken to a Tel Aviv laboratory for DNA tests to verify their identity.
Mr Netanyahu said it would be “a very difficult day for the state of Israel”, while President Isaac Herzog said “the hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters” and asked for “forgiveness for not protecting you.”
Israel previously said it was extremely concerned about the condition of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir but had never confirmed their deaths.
All four of the Israelis were abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a number of communities overrun by Hamas on the day of the surprise attack.
Video showed Shiri Bibas appearing terrified as she cradled her boys while they were taken into Gaza.
The family said this week their “journey is not over” until they receive confirmation of what happened to Shiri and the boys.
Meanwhile, six living hostages, the final due to be freed under the first phase of the Gaza truce deal, will also be released on Saturday, according to Hamas.
Israelis who survived being held prisoner in Gaza have been released in small groups since the first six-week phase began last month.
Three more – Alexander Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen and Iair Horn – were freed last weekend. The swap included 369 Palestinians, the most released so far.
The deal has provided a vital pause in the fighting that’s devastated Gaza and left tens of thousands dead.
Israel said negotiations on the second phase of the deal and an extension to the ceasefire would start this week.
Foreign minister Gideon Saar said it would involve the remaining hostages being exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
At least 1,200 people were murdered in the terror attack that started the war.
Since then, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Skynews.
