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The coffins containing the bodies of four hostages escorted by IDF and Shin Bet forces, crossed the border from Gaza into Israel, and are on their way to he National Institute of Forensic Medicine to be positively identified.
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IDF ceremony in Gaza after hostages' bodies handed over
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The coffins are believed to hold the remains of Shiri Bibas, her young children Kfir and Ariel, and Oded Lipshitz.
Prior to crossing into Israel, the IDF held a short ceremony during which a chapter of Psalms was read by the Chief Military Rabbi and the coffins were draped in the Israeli flag, according to protocol.
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Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz - their bodies will be returned to Israel
(Photos: Courtesy of the families)
The coffins were handed over to the IDF and Shin Bet forces from Hamas via the Red Cross, inside the Gaza Strip, from where they will be transferred to Israel to the Ministry of Health's National Center for Forensic Medicine to be positively identified. At the end of the identification process, an official notification will be given to the families. "The families of the kidnapped have been informed, and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time," the statement said, adding: "The public is asked to respect the families' privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded."
The transfer comes as 503 days of hope for a different ending are shattered, and Israel is living through one of the most difficult days since October 7. Four killed hostages - who according to Hamas are Shiri Bibas, her young children Kfir and Ariel, and Oded Lipshitz - were handed over to Israel Thursday morning, as part of the cease-fire and hostage release deal. Israel confirmed the names of the hostages Wednesday evening.
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Live broadcast from Hostages Square
As the handover was taking place, dozens of members of Kibbutz Nir Oz gathered in the Dove Square in Karmi Gat, where the evacuated community is based, waiting for the return of the four dead hostages, who are from their community.
Israelis have lined up along roads from Gaza to Tel Aviv holding flags as they await the return to Israel of the hostages' bodies. Some hold signs that read "Sorry."
President Isaac Herzog addressed the return of the bodies of four killed hostages, saying, "Agony. Pain. There are no words. 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."
At the request of the families, Ynet will not publish the harsh photos of the stage and the cynical "ceremony" that Hamas held in Bani Suheila, a suburb of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
This is a snapshot of what occurred at the ceremony. On the stage at the ceremony, pictures of the four were displayed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a bloodthirsty vampire above them. The horrific caption alongside it, which also includes many errors in Hebrew, reads: "The war criminal murdered them, with the missiles of fighter jets." Alongside it, against a background of pictures of coffins covered with Israeli flags: "Return to war - return of the hostages in coffins."
One of the terrorists sitting in the front row at that "ceremony" was Muhammad Abu Warda, who was released in the third round of hostage releases under the current deal, three weeks ago.
Abu Warda was behind the attacks on Line 18 in Jerusalem in 1996, in which 44 people were murdered. In addition, he was behind an attack at a bus stop in Ashkelon in February 1996, in which a woman was murdered, and was sentenced to a total of 48 life sentences.
Hamas announced that the person who would hand over the dead to the Red Cross was the commander of the East Khan Younis Battalion - despite the fact that Israel previously had announced his elimination.
After the coffins carrying the hostages were turned over to the IDF, Israel lodged official protests about the cruel Hamas handover ceremony with the mediators and the Red Cross.
The Red Cross, to which the dead hostages will be transferred, were set to hand over the bodies to the IDF inside the Gaza Strip. Upon receiving the fallen hostages, they will be transferred to coffins covered with Israeli flags. At the handover ceremony, IDF Chief Rabbi, Brigadier General Eyal Karim, will preside and read Psalms. From the Gaza Strip, the coffins will be transported in military vehicles directly to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir for identification.
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At Gama junction, waiting for the return of the dead hostages
(Video: Ilana Curiel)
An Israeli official referred to the intention to perform a "ceremony" and said that it would be a violation of the agreements between Israel and the mediators, under which Israel insisted that there would be no ceremonies and showpieces. "We talked about handing over the bodies in a dignified and appropriate manner. We made it clear that we do not agree to ceremonies and that the handover will be carried out in a dignified manner, and this is coordinated between us, the Red Cross and the mediators," the official said.
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The IDF spokesman will document the arrival status of the coffins, and the distribution of the photos will be the responsibility of the families of the fallen. As part of a secret annex to the agreement, the killed hostages will be transferred to Israel Thursday instead of on Saturday, the official day of the next round of returning hostages, because the process of identifying them can take up to 48 hours. This will ensure that Hamas complies with the agreement and handed over the dead Israelis. Only after there is official identification will Israel be able to confirm that the terrorist organization did indeed comply with the agreement, and only then will the security prisoners be released.
On Saturday, the last six living hostages set to be returned in Phase I will be released - Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed - and next week four additional hostages will be handed over. To meet the deadlines, the remaining hostages will also be handed over next week on Thursday, the 40th day of the deal.
The Palestinians announced that 602 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons this week. Some 445 of them are residents of the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7, and they will be released Thursday after the handover of the dead hostages. The others, who will be released on Saturday, are 50 sentenced to life imprisonment, 60 sentenced to long prison terms, and 47 released in the Shalit deal. Some 108 prisoners will be deported to Egypt as a first stop, before being transferred to other countries, including 13 prisoners who suffer from serious medical problems.
First published: 07:36, 02.20.25