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Courtesy the families/TPS-IL on 20 February, 2025
Bodies of Four Hostages Return to Israel After 503 Days
Jerusalem, 20 February, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- The bodies of four hostages crossed into Israeli territory as throngs of people gathered along the convoy’s expected route to pay their last respects on Thursday.
Hamas says it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas, her sons, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz today. Deferring to the families, Israel is not confirming the names until the bodies are positively identified.
The bodies are being taken to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification and to determine causes of death. Authorities stressed that identification could take two days, perhaps more depending on the state of the bodies. It has been 503 days since they were abducted.
The bodies were transferred to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis after being displayed on a stage along with photographs of the four and signs with propaganda messages.
At least one recently freed terrorist who was supposed to be deported abroad was seen at the event.
Mohammed Abu Warda was serving 48 life sentences for attacks on Israeli busses that killed 44 people in the 1990s. Israel’s Kan News reported that Egypt refused entry to Warda and 18 other terrorists who were also supposed to be deported under the terms of the ceasefire.
Shiri Bibas and her husband, Yarden, and sons Ariel and Kfir were abducted from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7. At just nine-months-old, the red-haired Kfir was the youngest hostage. Ariel was four.
They were supposed to be released along with 105 other women and children during the temporary ceasefire of November 2023. On November 29, Hamas claimed the three had been killed in an Israeli airstrike but provided no evidence. Yarden was released on Feb. 1. All four were Israeli-Argentine nationals.
Oded Lifshitz, 84, was a retired journalist, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz in 1955, and a peace activist. He was known for volunteering for “Road to Recovery,” a non-governmental organization that transports Palestinian children with medical conditions to Israeli hospitals for treatment.
Lifshitz was abducted from his home with his wife, Yocheved. She and hostage Nurit Cooper were freed after 17 days of captivity.
He is survived by four children, several grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.
The ongoing first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for up to 1,904 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how Israeli captives are alive. Hamas notified Israeli authorities in January that of the 33, eight are dead, but offered no evidence.
Since the first hostage release on Jan. 19, Hamas has freed 19 Israeli and five Thai captives in exchange for 952 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists.
Hostages Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Al-Sayed are due to return home alive on Saturday.
The fate of the remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations during the ceasefire’s second phase. Critics say the phased approach condemns these 65 hostages to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 69 remaining hostages, more than 36 are believed to be dead.
