Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including members of the Bibas family, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis as the volatile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continues to hold amid the prevailing threat of violence resurgence.
The Israeli military has confirmed that it has received the bodies of the deceased captives handed over by Hamas through the Red Cross.
“The hostages’ bodies were handed over to [Israel’s army] and ISA [Shin Bet] representatives in Gaza,” a military spokesperson said.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Israel had “received the caskets of four fallen hostages”.
Hamas, while returning the bodies to the relatives of the deceased, said, “We wanted your sons to return home alive, but they were killed because of the insistence of Netanyahu’s obsessive plan to continue violence in Gaza.”
On the handover of the bodies of four Israeli captives, Hamas said in a statement it “preserved the lives of the occupation prisoners,” provided them with what it could, and “treated them humanely, but their army killed them along with their captors.”
Hamas lashed out at Netanyahu, for shedding fake tears and said, “Criminal Netanyahu is crying today over the bodies of his prisoners who returned to him in coffins, in a blatant attempt to evade responsibility for their killing in front of his audience,” Hamas added.
Authorities in Gaza have said that Israel was preventing the entry of 135,000 mobile homes for the residents displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza.
This includes 500 bulldozers and humanitarian aid sent to clean the rubble caused by the Israeli airstrikes during the 15th month-long invasion along with assisting the families who are in desperate need.
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Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,297 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, while 111,733 people have been wounded.
The Government Media Office later revised its death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 taken captive.
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