WASHINGTON (TNND) — The bodies of four Israeli hostages taken by Hamas were released Thursday bringing the number of captives freed since the ceasefire began to 28.
Hamas and Israel confirmed Tuesday that the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel, 4 and Kfir, 9 months old, would be included in the release.
Hamas took Bibas, her sons, and her husband, Yarden, during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Hamas said the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Yarden Bibas was released earlier this month during the ceasefire deal.
Video capturing the abduction showed Shiri Bibas carrying her children in a blanket as they were carried away by Hamas.
The body of one of the oldest hostages held by the militant group, Oded Lifshitz, 84, was also returned after he was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
The couple are among the founders of Nir Oz. Oded, a journalist, campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said forces brought the coffins of the four deceased hostages over the border into Israel and they will be taken to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine to undergo an identification procedure.
On Saturday, six released hostages will be the last living hostages to be freed under the current ceasefire’s first phase. Talks on the second phase were to start early this month.
The ceasefire was threatened last week after Hamas postponed the release of more hostages, citing the refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment among other alleged violations of the truce.
An Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters that the hostage release came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to allow long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza.
Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas hostages.
Monday marked 500 days of war between Israel and Hamas.
