The Israeli military on Thursday (Feb 20) said that it had received the bodies of four hostages handed over by Hamas, through the Red Cross, in Gaza.

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog mourned the deaths of four hostages, believed to include members of the Bibas family, who have become symbols of the ordeal.

"Our hearts -- the hearts of the entire nation -- lie in tatters," Herzog said in a statement released after Hamas handed over the bodies.

Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli hostages

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Hamas has handed over four bodies claimed to be those of Israeli hostages, including a mother and her two young sons, who had become a powerful symbol in Israel of the struggles faced by hostages held in Gaza. 

To verify their identities, the bodies will undergo forensic testing in Israel. 

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Four bodies handed over to Hamas

The bodies handed over by Hamas are believed to be of Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, just nine months old, when they were taken captive. The fourth body is of 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz.

All four were taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on Israel's Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023.

Hamas claims they were killed in Israeli strikes during the Gaza war, although Israel did not confirm their deaths, expressing concerns that Hamas' claims might be part of their psychological warfare.

Yarden Bibas, the husband of Shiri Bibas, was also taken hostage by Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on their home in Nir Oz, Israel. 

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Yarden was released alive earlier this month, as part of a prisoner exchange agreement.

The Bibas family, especially their two young redheaded children, Ariel and Kfir, had become a powerful symbol of the hostage crisis in Israel, with their faces appearing on posters and commemorations held on their birthdays.

The family's plight had captured the hearts of many Israelis, who rallied around them, demanding their safe release.

Lifshitz was a retired journalist and peace activist who helped found the kibbutz Nir Oz.

He volunteered with Road to Recovery, an Israeli organization of volunteers who drive Palestinians to hospital appointments in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His wife, Yocheved, 85, was also taken hostage and freed after about two weeks.

Hamas handover ceremony

The remains were handed over to the Red Cross in a formal ceremony near a Khan Younis cemetery, with masked Hamas gunmen overseeing the event. Four coffins, draped in black, were displayed on a stage with posters bearing messages in Hebrew and English.

One poster depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a fanged vampire. Another threatened that if Israel resumed the Gaza war, other hostages would be returned in coffins.

(With inputs from agencies)