Israel Receives Bodies Of Four Hostages After Hamas Parades Them By Cheering Crowds

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Israel received the bodies of four Hamas hostages today after the terror group paraded them on stage in front of cheering crowds in a propaganda spectacle.

At Hamas’s ceremony in Khan Yunis, large crowds, including children, wearing logos associated with terror groups, gathered as upbeat music played. They awaited the handover of the bodies of hostages Shiri Bibas, her young children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, an elderly man

The coffins each had a picture of the hostages with a sticker that said “date of arrest October 7 2023.”

On the stage was a picture of the four fallen hostages with an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a vampire with the text “This War Criminal Netanyahu & His Nazi Army Killed Them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes.” There was also a missile with a sign in English reading “They were killed by USA bombs.”

During the ceremony, a man speaking in English called President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans out of the strip “bullsh**.”

The coffins were carried by four masked men, each wearing a headband symbolizing a different Palestinian terrorist organization including Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Mujahideen Movement’s Mujahideen Brigades, and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigade. Fatah is chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the Palestinian areas of Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

Hamas threatened to keep the bodies after the Red Cross initially refused to take part in the handover ceremony, according to Israel’s Channel 12. Red Cross representatives eventually gave in, and signed documents on stage to receive the bodies.

The coffins were then transported to the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip where they underwent an evaluation by a bomb squad to ensure the terrorists did not booby trap them, as they had done to other bodies on October 7.

The IDF wrapped the coffins in Israeli flags and the Military Rabbinate chief, Brigadier-General Rabbi Eyal Krim, recited Psalm 83.

Soldiers can be seen fighting back tears as they carry the coffins to vehicles to be transported to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for identification. Once the bodies are identified, families will be given final confirmation of their loved ones so they can proceed with the burials. The causes of death are also expected to be investigated.

The Lifshitz family received final confirmation that Oded’s body had been identified only hours after he arrived for identification.

“503 agonizing days of uncertainty have come to an end,” the family said in a statement. “We had hoped and prayed so much for a different outcome. Now we can mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been missing from us since October 7. Our family’s healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum plans to not broadcast any propaganda spectacle during its gathering Thursday in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, and many Israeli media outlets have also chosen to not broadcast any Hamas propaganda spectacle after speaking with officials and the families of hostages.

The Hostage forum announced it will hold a ceremony tonight in Hostage Square to call for the return of all 69 hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the hearts of Israelis “lie in tatters.”

“Agony. Pain. There are no words,” Herzog said in a statement. “Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters. On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”

UN Human rights chief Volker Turk called Hamas’s spectacle “abhorrent,” and said it flies in the face of international law.

“Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” Volker Turk said in a statement.

Turk came under fire earlier in December following a report from UN Watch that found he has condemned Israel far more than any country with 58 condemnations, which is more than all non-democratic countries combined. The report found that his statements on Hamas were usually tied into anti-Israel statements and hardly refer to the name Hamas directly, instead referring to the terror group as ‘Palestinian armed groups.’

Lifshitz, 84, was a journalist and peace activist who helped found Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was known for transporting sick Gazans to Israeli hospitals.

His wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, who was also taken hostage but released in the November 2023 deal, said her husband “fought for the Palestinians his whole life; they betrayed him and took him into hell.”

The news of the death of 32-year-old Shiri and her two young children has sparked international outrage. Kfir was nine months old when he was kidnapped and Ariel was 4. Footage of Shiri’s terrified face while holding the two redheaded boys went viral after October 7, making the family a symbol of the horror terrorists inflicted on Israeli civilians during the attack.

In November 2023, Hamas forced Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, to record a video announcing the deaths of his wife and kids. Yarden, who was released earlier this month, has reportedly clung to hope that his family is alive.

Hamas also released the names of the final six living hostages set to be released from Gaza on Saturday. The list includes Israeli citizens Omer Shem Tov, 22, Omer Wenkert, 23, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Tal Shoham, 30, all of whom were captured by terrorists on October 7. Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Avraham (Avera) Mengisto, 39, who have both been hostages in Gaza for about a decade, will also be released.

So far, 19 of 33 hostages have been released during the first phase of the ceasefire, along with five Thai hostages who were released as part of a separate deal. Seventy-three hostages remain in captivity, all but three of whom were abducted on October 7.

The fate of those not slated for the first phase has yet to be negotiated. According to the ceasefire agreement, negotiations for phase two were set to begin on February 3, the 16th day, but discussions have not yet commenced.



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