TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The remains of the youngest and one of the oldest captives seized by Hamas during the attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip are expected to be returned on Thursday, an Israeli official said Wednesday.
The handover, part of the ceasefire agreement that has paused the fighting in Gaza, will include the bodies of a mother and her two young children whose fate was uncertain and a retired journalist in his 80s, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
It was the first Israeli confirmation that the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when they were taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, were being returned along with their mother Shiri. A grassroots forum representing hostage families also confirmed the names.
For many Israelis, the family has come to symbolize the plight of those taken captive. The fate of the Bibas mother and boys was unclear for much of the war, and the family released a statement Wednesday asking Israelis to wait for forensic identification of the remains before “eulogizing our loved ones.”
The body of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted, also will be returned, the official said.
“The heart of an entire nation breaks,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes while Israel had previously said it had ”grave concern” for the lives of the Bibas family.
A top Hamas official announced earlier this week that the militant group will return the four bodies and free six living Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners during the ceasefire’s first phase.
The deal's first phase calls for Hamas to gradually release 33 hostages, eight of whom are believed to be dead.
So far, the return of 19 living Israeli hostages has been celebrated across the nation, but the handover of the bodies on Thursday is sure to be met with a somber tone.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said on Tuesday the dead would include the “Bibas family.”
The Bibas family were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Their plight captivated Israelis who saw in them an embodiment of the brutality of Hamas' attack. Yarden Bibas, the husband and father, was freed from captivity earlier this month.
Lifshitz, who spent his life fighting for Arab rights, was one of the oldest hostages taken by Hamas. His daughter, a London-based artist, said in January she was holding onto hope that he survived but also prepared for the worst.
"These are difficult hours for us, after being informed that our beloved Oded is among the deceased hostages who will be returned," his family said in a statement. “For 502 days we hoped and prayed for a different outcome. However, until we receive absolute certainty, our journey is not over, and even afterwards we will continue to fight until the last hostage is returned.”
As a journalist, Lifshitz campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. In his later years, he drove Palestinians to medical appointments in Israel as part of a group called On the Way to Recovery.
The release of the six living hostages on Saturday would be an acceleration of the ceasefire deal. Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks. During the first phase, Israel is also due to release all women and children seized from Gaza since the war began.
Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press
