Hamas hands over the remains of four Israeli civilians – including the two youngest hostages – to Israel via the International Red Cross.
By World Israel News Staff
The Hamas terror organization handed over the remains of four slain Israeli civilians held hostage since October 7th, 2023, to the International Red Cross Thursday morning, as part of the ongoing hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire.
The captives include 85-year-old Oded Lifshitz, 33-year-old Shiri Bibas, and her two sons – the youngest Israelis taken hostage by Gazan terrorists on October 7th – Ariel and Kfir.
The two boys would have been five and two years old respectively.
After an event held by Hamas in the Bani Suheila neighborhood of the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis Thursday morning, during which four coffins were presented on stage, the remains of the four Israeli captives were transferred to the International Red Cross at 9:50 a.m.
The transfer took place in front of a large crowd that was cheering when Hamas arrived carrying four black coffins in four separate cars.
“As the bodies of four Israeli hostages are transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, hundreds of ‘innocent Gazans’ dance to music, and happily film this tragic event,” Israel’s Government Press Office wrote on X. “Speechless doesn’t begin to describe how this makes us feel.”
Half an hour later, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that the coffins carrying the four slain hostages had been handed over to an IDF force.
“Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffins of four fallen hostages,” the PMO said.
“The coffins were handed over to the IDF and Shin Bet forces, within the Gaza Strip area, from where they will be transferred to Israel to the National Forensic Medicine Institute of the Ministry of Health. After the identification process is completed, an official notice will be delivered to the families.”
“The families of the hostages have been updated, and in this difficult time, our hearts are with them.”
Lifshitz, a former journalist, was abducted, along with his wife Yocheved, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th, 2023, before their home was torched by Hamas terrorists.
The couple have been described as peace activists who volunteered to drive Gazans from the border into Israel for medical treatment.
Shiri Bibas and her children, Ariel and Kfir, were also residents of Nir Oz.
Video taken at around 10:00 a.m. on October 7th shows the three being taken hostage by a group of terrorists aligned with the Katayeb al-Mujahideen group.
“Agony. Pain. There are no words,” President Isaac Herzog said Thursday morning following the transfer of the hostages’ remains.
“Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters.”
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely. May their memory be a blessing.”
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