Israelis hold photographs of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas at a gathering calling for their release at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, on November 28, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
(JTA) — This is a developing story.
A Hamas official has announced that the terror group will return the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, among them the Bibas family.
Hamas is also due to release six living hostages on Saturday.
The return of the bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas would mark a tragic end to 16 months of activism, protest and prayer on behalf of the family, who more than anyone else became symbols of the Israeli hostages’ plight. Kfir and Ariel’s father, Shiri’s husband Yarden, was also taken hostage and held separately. He was released earlier this month.
An image of Shiri clutching the two boys, then ages 9 months and 4, as they were abducted into Gaza circulated widely after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Since then, their names and pictures, identifiable by the boys’ red hair, have been at the center of global efforts to secure the hostages’ release, have symbolized the atrocities of Oct. 7 and have animated the prayers and hopes of Jews and other advocates worldwide. Images of the family in happier times have spread worldwide.
Since a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, Kfir and Ariel Bibas have been the only two children held hostage in Gaza. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that Shiri and the two boys had been killed, and Israel said it was investigating the claim but did not confirm it. In the year-plus since, advocates for the hostages have held out hope that the family remained alive.
In recent weeks, Israel has broadcast increasing worry about Shiri, Kfir and Ariel, who are on the list of hostages to be released during the current ceasefire. An Israeli official expressed “grave concerns” for their fate. Concerns rose further after Hamas announced that eight of the 33 hostages due to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire were dead.
On Tuesday, in a prerecorded video, Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya announced the release of the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, “among them the bodies of the Bibas family.” CNN and the Associated Press also reported that Hamas announced the return of the bodies of the Bibas family.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that four dead hostages would be released on Thursday followed by six living hostages on Saturday. The bodies of the final four hostages included in the first phase of the agreement will be released the following week. The announcement did not include the hostages’ names.
“Understandings have been reached in the Cairo negotiations according to which six living first-stage hostages will be released on Saturday,” the statement said. “This Thursday, four deceased hostages will be returned to Israel. Pursuant to the agreement, four additional deceased hostages are due to be returned to Israel next week.”
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