Thursday Hamas delivered those who said were the remains of four Israeli hostages kidnapped during October 7, 2023, attack on Southern Israel, including a woman and her two children that the Israelis saw as symbols of the defectiveness of the Hamas assault.
Folie di Palestinians gathered near the southern city of Gaza of Khan Youunis to look at the theatrical transfer staged by Hamas: four coffins were placed on a stage with a banner with a comic book and a quadrical by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister. Triumphic music beat in the background.
Miles away, the Israelis saw the scene taking place in horror and anguish, a clear contrast with the catharsis evoked by the recent exits of hostages that had survived their ordeal. Israel leaders had promised to overthrow Hamas and bring home the approximately 250 hostages of the militant group and its allies kidnapped during the 2023 attack.
But Mr. Netanyahu was also criticized by many Israelis for not having accepted before ceasing the fire that could have saved some of the prisoners who died in Gaza. And the Hamas strength shows during the exchanges in recent weeks have also shown that the group is still in power.
Israel and Hamas are now in the last few weeks of a ceased the fire of 42 days which has started in mid -January. As part of the truce, Hamas has agreed to transform over 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
In exchange for the bodies, Israel should free women and minors of Gaza who have been held during the war, generally without formal accusations.
Two Israeli officials declared that the prisoners had to be freed on Saturday, in part to allow Israel to conduct forensic tests and identify the bodies. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
On Thursday, while the rain passed away in Gaza, the officials of the International Red Cross Committee-Ci was served by the middle of the exchanges during the exchanges-the four coffins in white vehicles placed. Israel later confirmed that he had brought the boxes to the Israeli forces.
Hamas has identified the four such as Shiri Bibas and his children, Ariel and Kfir and Oded Lifshitz. When they were captured, Mrs. Bibas was 32 years old, Ariel was 4 years old and Kfir was 9 months old; Mr. Lifshitz was 83 years old. All four were kidnapped during the surprise attack led by Hamas that on October 7-the most fatal day in Israeli history-in which about 1,200 people were killed.
The incessant campaign of Israel against Hamas in Gaza followed quickly, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and leaving most of the ruined enclave. Hamas said that the four hostages were also killed in Israeli air attacks, that Israeli officials have yet to confirm.
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, said that “there are no words” for the agony of seeing the coffins. Many Israelis are now very familiar with the names and faces of the hostages, whose images have been omnipresent in the country by their kidnapping.
“Our hearts – the hearts of an entire nation – are found in shreds,” Herzog wrote on social media. “On behalf of the state of Israel, I call the head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not having protected you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not having brought you home safely. “
Mrs. Bibas and her children, together with Mr. Lifshitz, were kidnapped by Nir Oz’s Palestinian militants, one of the Israeli communities most affected during the attack. About a quarter of the 400 residents of the village were killed or taken hostage during the assault.
Mrs. Bibas’s husband, Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped. In the movie of the scene that is now unpopted in the national memory of Israel, a terrified Mrs. Bibas – covered by a blanket – could be seen tightening Ariel and Kfir in the chest.
In November 2023, Hamas published a statement that announced the death of Mrs. Bibas and the two children. The group also published a propaganda video with a hiccup Mr. Bibas who replies to the news. Human rights groups have said that these videos are equivalent to a war crime.
As part of the cessation agreement the fire, Bibas was released at the beginning of this month.
Mr. Lifshitz, a retired journalist, was brought alongside his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz. Hamas later freed her for what she said were “humanitarian reasons”, but she refused to release her husband. Before the war, Mr. Lifshitz had volunteered to guide Gazas looking for medical care in Israel in hospitals.
Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have seen emotional houses in recent weeks.
The Israeli hostages gathered with their families after many months in Hamas’ Warren of Underground Tunels.
And the Palestinian prisoners – some of whom emerged from Israeli prisons that seem to be scarne or sick – have also embraced their loved ones. Some were serving life sentences for mortal attacks against the Israelis, while many others had not been accused of any crime.
Hamas has transformed the exits of hostages into ceremonies showing his domain in Gaza despite 16 months of devastating war. The glasses pushed the sentence in Israel and abroad.
“Four coffins, presented on stage – unbearable images. Until the end, the families of the hostages are exposed to the unlimited terror of Hamas “, wrote Annana Baertbock, the German Foreign Minister, on social media.
Saturday, Hamas should free the last six living hostages in the first phase of the fire with Israel in exchange for multiple Palestinian prisoners. The remains of four other hostages will be released next weekend.
But the future of the truce after its first stadium, which will expire in early March, is still wrapped in uncertainty.
Israel and Hamas have not agreed on the terms to extend the agreement in a new phase that would end the war conclusive, will free the remaining living hostages and would see a full retreat of Israeli forces. This week, the Qatar government – who is accumulating the interviews together with Egypt and the United States – said that the negotiations on the matter have not yet formally started.
President Trump has put pressure on both sides to conquer such agreement. But Israel refused to support any Hamas control in Gaza, while Hamas showed little appetite for dissolving his battalions of armed fighters or for having sent his leaders of Gaza in exile.