Hamas hands over first dead Israeli hostages in Gaza

Hamas has handed the Red Cross the bodies of four hostages who have been held in Gaza since being taken alive in the group’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Hamas says they are those of a mother and two children from the Bibas family, whose unknown fate has gripped Israel, and Oded Lifschitz, 84, a veteran peace activist.

It marks the first time the group has returned dead hostages since the ceasefire began last month.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said “the heart of the entire nation is torn”, adding that Israel was dealing with “monsters”.

Six living hostages are due to be freed on Saturday.

In choreographed scenes reminiscent of recent handovers of livings hostages, four coffins were laid out on a stage in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in front of crowds of spectators. A Red Cross official appeared to sign documents at a table alongside armed Hamas fighters before the coffins were driven away in Red Cross vehicles to be transferred to Israeli forces.

Earlier the Red Cross had called for a dignified handover by Hamas following widespread denunciation of the way in which it had released hostages in recent weeks.

The news – though unconfirmed by the Israeli government – that Shiri Bibas, 33, and her sons (who would now be aged five and two) are dead triggered an outpouring of grief across the country. The government says it will only confirm the names of the dead after forensic examinations.

In a statement, the Bibas family in Israel said it was “in turmoil”, adding that “until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over”.

It is not known how Shiri, Kfir and his brother Ariel – if confirmed – died. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that they had been killed in an Israeli air strike, without providing evidence. At the time, then-member of Israel’s war cabinet Benny Gantz said there was no confirmation of the claim.

The family were taken along with the father, Yarden, from kibbutz Nir Oz when hundreds of Hamas gunmen burst through the border with Israel and attacked communities, security forces sites and a music festival.

About 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the attack and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Yarden Bibas, 35, was released on 1 February along with two other hostages as part of an exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Oded Lifschitz, a retired journalist, was also taken from Nir Oz, along with this wife, Yocheved. The eighty-five year-old woman was freed by Hamas two weeks later.

Oded Lifschitz had been held by the armed Palestinian group Islamic Jihad since 7 October 2023.

The release of hostages’ bodies was agreed as part of the ceasefire deal which came into effect on 19 January. Israel has confirmed there will be eight.

The two sides agreed to exchange 33 hostages for about 1,900 prisoners by the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire.

Talks on progressing to the next phase of the deal – under which the remaining living hostages would be released and the war would end permanently – were due to start earlier this month but have not yet begun.

Twenty-four hostages and over 1,000 prisoners have so far been exchanged.

Seventy hostages taken on 7 October are still being held in Gaza. Three other hostages, taken over a decade ago, are also being held. About half of all the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.