The bodies of an Israeli mother and her two children are being handed over by Hamas this morning.
Shiri Bibas, four-year-old Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir were kidnapped from a kibbutz during the October 2023 terror attack.
The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, was released on 1 February as part of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Red Cross cars have arrived in Khan Younis for the handover and hundreds have gathered
Hamas leader Khalil al Hayya said the family would be among four bodies to be handed over.
It also plans to release the body of peace activist Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted.
Hamas has claimed they were all killed in Israeli airstrikes near the start of the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would be “a very difficult day for the state of Israel. An upsetting day, a day of grief”.
The Bibas family has become a powerful symbol of the 251 Israelis kidnapped on 7 October – not least because Kfir was the youngest taken.
Oded Lifshitz, 84, was also taken from Kibbutz Nir-Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
The bodies will be handed to the Red Cross in Khan Younis and later undergo DNA tests to verify their identity.
Israel previously said it was extremely concerned about the condition of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir but has never confirmed their deaths.
They were abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a number of communities overrun by Hamas terrorists on the day of the surprise attack.
Yarden Bibas was released earlier this month. Pic: Reuters
The family said this week their “journey is not over” until they receive confirmation of what happened to Shiri and the boys.
Meanwhile six living hostages, the final due to be freed under the first phase of the Gaza truce deal, will also be released on Saturday, according to Hamas.
Israelis who survived being kidnapped during the 7 October attack in 2023 have been released in small groups since the first six-week phase began last month.
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Israeli hostage hugs wife
Three more – Alexander Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen and Iair Horn – were freed last weekend.
The swap included 369 Palestinians, the most released up until now, and 19 Israeli hostages have been returned so far in the current phase – which ends at the start of March.
The deal has provided a vital pause in the fighting that’s devastated Gaza and left tens of thousands dead.
