Hamas has handed over the remains of deceased hostages, including members of the Bibas family, to the Red Cross on Thursday in southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The group said it had sought to keep the Israeli captives in its custody alive but the Israeli army killed them under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war on Gaza.
“Criminal Netanyahu is crying today over the bodies of his prisoners who returned to him in coffins, in a blatant attempt to evade responsibility for their killing in front of his audience,” Hamas added.
While addressing the families of the killed Israeli captives – the families of Bibas and Lifshitz – it said: “We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”
The transfer of the bodies is the first by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and is taking place under a fragile ceasefire that has seen living hostages exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The ceremony to return the bodies of Shiri Bibas, her two young boys- Kfir and Ariel– and a fourth captive, Oded Lifshitz, 83 at the time of his capture, took place at a former cemetery in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
