Palestinian Militants Deliver Bodies of Four Israeli Hostages to Red Cross

Synopsis

In a significant development, Palestinian armed groups handed over the remains of four Israeli hostages to the ICRC in Khan Younis, marking the first repatriation under a ceasefire agreement. The bodies will be formally identified in Tel Aviv following their delivery by the Red Cross.

Key Takeaways

Transfer of remains of four Israeli hostages to the ICRC.
This event represents the first repatriation under a ceasefire.
The handover occurred during a military parade by Hamas and other factions.
The deceased were confirmed as victims of the ongoing conflict.
Israel will conduct formal identifications of the bodies.

Gaza/Jerusalem, Feb 20 (NationPress) Palestinian militant groups on Thursday transferred the remains of four Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team located in Khan Younis, situated in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local Palestinian sources.

This marks the first return of deceased hostages as part of a continuing ceasefire agreement. The handover took place near the Bani Suhaila cemetery during a military parade that saw participation from members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas, along with various other Palestinian factions. The event featured a significant assembly of masked fighters surrounding a platform where the coffins were displayed.

Upon the arrival of the ICRC team, an al-Qassam Brigades militant lifted a black curtain to unveil four black wooden coffins, each adorned with photographs of the deceased individuals. Hamas issued a statement confirming that the bodies belonged to Shiri Bibas, her two children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, and an elderly man named Oded Lifshitz, all of whom lost their lives in the Gaza Strip amidst the conflict with Israel.

The formal process commenced with a Hamas representative signing a transfer document in the presence of an ICRC official.

The ICRC then delivered the bodies to Israeli forces in Gaza, who will subsequently transfer them to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for formal identification, as stated by Israel's Prime Minister's Office.

"After the identification process is completed, families will receive official notifications," the office added.

The four individuals were captured during a Hamas offensive against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Mujahideen Brigades, affiliated with the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, claimed responsibility for the capture of the Bibas family during the incident, while the Al-Quds Brigades, connected to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, asserted that they had detained Lifshitz. Both groups maintained that all Israeli captives were alive until they were caught in Israeli airstrikes targeting their detention locations.

Following the handover, Hamas reiterated in a press statement that the return of the bodies was executed for humanitarian purposes, despite what they termed as "ongoing violations" by the Israeli military against Palestinian detainees, according to reports from Xinhua news agency.

Hamas accused Israel of committing a "new crime" against its own citizens, asserting that Israel was fully accountable for their deaths, as the captives were purportedly killed in direct Israeli airstrikes alongside their Palestinian captors.

The armed group further accused the Israeli government of consistently hindering negotiations for hostage-for-prisoner exchanges, extending the captives' detention, and ultimately leading to their deaths due to military actions.