Hamas released the bodies of a woman, her two children and an 83 -year -old Israeli man who was captive in the October 2023 attack.
Thursday, the bodies were given to the ICRC in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. Four men transported the four coffins of the scene to the vehicles of the Red Cross, one at a time.
A large poster acting as a backdrop on the stage showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fangs and blood on his face, flowing in the photos of the four Israelis whose bodies were released.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian group said the four were alive before “the Zionist occupation plane deliberately bombes the places they were.”
Hamas said in a statement that he “kept the life of prisoners of the occupation”, provided them what he could, and “treated them humanly, but their army (of Israel) killed them with their kidnappers “.
“The criminal Netanyahu is crying today on the bodies of his prisoners returned to him in coffins, in a blatant attempt to escape the responsibility of their murder before his audience,” said Hamas.
While addressing families of Israeli captives killed, he said: “We would have preferred that your sons come back alive, but your army and government leaders have chosen to kill them instead of bringing them back.”
The return of the bodies is part of the cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel, which will also see hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons where a number of them have been held in detention without any charge or trial .
A Palestinian group said that Israel retains the remains of at least 665 Palestinians, including several killed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Tareq Abu Azzoum of Tel Aviv Tribune, reporting from Khan Younis, said: “The site is symbolic for the Palestinians because it was a central site for the Israeli land forces during the city’s military operations.
“The preparations started in the early hours of the morning. There are masked fighters with green bands on the head, armed with rifles and holding different signs with slogans, “he added. “The scene was well prepared with three main banners. One of them talks about the crimes committed by Israeli forces during their operations in Gaza. »»
Symbol of “Israeli stupidity”
The bodies that were given included the Israeli infant Kfir Bibas, his four -year -old brother Ariel, their mother Shiri Bibas and a fourth captive, Oded Lifschitz.
Akiva Eldar, Israeli author and political analyst, said that the return of the bodies marks a “very sad day for all of us”.
“These babies have become the symbol of I would say Israeli stupidity, the silly attitude of the Israeli government,” said Eldar in Tel Aviv Tribune de Tel Aviv.
He said Netanyahu is well aware of the poor conditions of Israeli captives.
“But he has other priorities,” said Eldar. “It is a kind of race between families who hope to see their loved ones at home, and Netanyahu, who wishes to keep his government as long as he can and buy more time and buy people’s support on the right radicals who believes that the earth is more precious than people’s lives. »»
After the transfer, the remains will be moved to coffins and an army rabbi will preside a short ceremony. They will then be taken to Israel to the National Judicial Institute to be identified, a process that could take a few hours or even a few days.
It is only after the identification that there will be an official announcement of their death and funeral.
Thursday’s transfer of body will be followed by the return of six living captives on Saturday, in exchange for hundreds of other Palestinians, who should be women and minors owned by Israeli forces in Gaza during the war.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas agreed to release 33 captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the first phase of an agreement intended to open the way at the end of the war.
Until now, 19 Israeli captives have been released, as well as five Thai people who have been returned to an unexpected transfer.
Negotiations for a second phase, supposed to cover the return of around 60 remaining captives, less than half of which would be alive, and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip to allow the end of the war, start in the next days.
The Israel genocide in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, with thousands of others remaining under the rubble of the bombed and besieged enclave.
