On Thursday, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages who had been held in Gaza, marking the first time the group has returned deceased captives since the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Among them were the remains of Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, who were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, over 16 months ago by Hamas-led militants. The two boys had become some of the most widely recognized victims of the October 7 attacks, making the return of their bodies a deeply emotional and somber moment for Israel.

The fourth body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 at the time of his abduction alongside his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz. Yocheved was later released by Hamas on October 24, 2023.

Following confirmation of his return, the Lifshitz family issued a statement: “503 agonizing days of uncertainty have come to an end. 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.”

Prior to the handover, Hamas militants displayed four black caskets on a stage in Khan Younis, with a backdrop bearing propaganda messages in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The bodies were first transferred to the Red Cross before being handed over to the Israeli military.

As the convoy carrying the coffins moved into Israel, crowds lined the roads, waving Israeli flags in mourning. The bodies arrived at the Abu Kabir National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, where experts began the process of identification.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed the nation's grief, stating, “Agony. Pain. There are no words,” in a post on X, and asked for forgiveness on behalf of the government for failing to protect those taken hostage on October 7.

Hamas previously claimed in November 2023 that the Bibas children and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike but did not provide evidence. Israel never confirmed their deaths.

Meanwhile, the children's father, Yarden Bibas, was released earlier this month after 484 days in captivity as part of the January 2025 ceasefire agreement.

Symbols of the October 7 Tragedy

At just 9 months old, Kfir Bibas was the youngest hostage taken into Gaza and the youngest known to have been killed. His image, featuring him clutching a pink elephant toy with a toothless smile, has become a powerful symbol in global campaigns and protests.

His brother, Ariel, who was 4 at the time of the abduction, was often seen in a widely shared photo taken after a haircut, still wrapped in the hairdresser’s cape. Other images depicted him as a Batman fan with long red hair, which were displayed in protests worldwide, including at Times Square in New York and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Footage of the Bibas family's abduction became one of the most harrowing visuals of the October 7 attack. It showed Shiri desperately holding onto her children, wrapped in a blanket, as they were forcibly taken by armed militants. Another video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later showed them alive in Gaza on October 7.

Despite a ceasefire agreement in late November 2023 that called for the release of all women and children, the Bibas family was not freed. The IDF stated at the time that they were likely held by other militant groups, not Hamas. A few days later, Hamas claimed the Bibas children and their mother had been killed in an Israeli airstrike but provided no evidence. Shortly after, the group released a video of Yarden Bibas, in which he appeared distressed and blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his family's deaths—a statement widely believed to have been made under duress.

Upon his release, Yarden urged continued efforts to bring all hostages home, saying, “Sadly, my family hasn’t returned to me yet. They are still there. My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark. Thanks to you, I was brought back—help me bring the light back to my life.”

The lead-up to the return of the four bodies was marked by controversy, as the Bibas family expressed anger at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for releasing the names without their approval. Officials later clarified that while the office had not issued an official statement, IDF liaison officers had informed reporters of the names without prior consultation with the family. The Bibas family urged the public not to “eulogize our loved ones until there is a confirmation after final identification.”