4 dead hostages, including mother and 2 young sons, will be returned from Gaza
The bodies of a mother and her two young boys who were taken hostage by Hamas in 2023 are expected to be returned to their loved ones on Thursday.
It was the first Israeli confirmation that the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when they were taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, were being returned along with their mother Shiri. A grassroots forum representing hostage families also confirmed the names.
Taken on Oct. 7, 2023
The backstory:
The Bibas family was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Their plight captivated Israelis who saw in them an embodiment of the brutality of Hamas' attack. Yarden Bibas, the husband and father, was freed from captivity earlier this month.
The fate of the Bibas mother and boys was unclear for much of the war, and the family released a statement Wednesday asking Israelis to wait for forensic identification of the remains before "eulogizing our loved ones."
In addition to the Bibas family, the body of 83-year-old journalist Oded Lifshitz, will also be returned.
What they're saying:
"The heart of an entire nation breaks," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes while Israel had previously said it had "grave concern" for the lives of the Bibas family.
FILE - Ofri Bibas Levi, the sister in law of Israeli hostage kidnaped during the October 7 attack in southern Israel Shiri Bibas, holds a family picture of Bibas and one of her two boys, at Moshav Giv'at Yo'av in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on F
More hostages released
A top Hamas official announced earlier this week that the militant group will return the four bodies and free six living Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners during the ceasefire’s first phase.
The release of the six living hostages on Saturday would mark an acceleration of the ceasefire deal.
Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks.
During the first phase, Israel is also due to release all women and children seized from Gaza since the war began.
RELATED: Former hostage describes time in Hamas captivity: "Starved and tortured"
Where does the war in Gaza stand?
What's next:
The truce faces a much bigger challenge in the coming weeks. The first phase is set to conclude at the beginning of March, and there have not yet been substantive negotiations over the second phase, in which Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from The Associated Press and previous reporting from LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from Los Angeles.