Bodies of final four Israeli hostages in 1st phase of...

HAMAS has returned the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages in a private handover ceremony tonight, days after the terror group admitted it had "mixed up" the body of Shiri Bibas. The grim exchange comes as Israel mourns the deaths of Shiri and her two children, whose fate was long uncertain due to Hamas's conflicting reports.

Image Credit: The Sun [Collage of Shlomo Mantzur, Tsahi Idan, and Itzik Elgarat.]

The bodies of Tsahi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur were transferred under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal. And unlike its previous twisted ceremonies, the terrorists gave back the hostage remains in a private, un-televised ceremony.

Image Credit: The Sun [Photo of Ohad Yahalomi.]

An Israeli security official, citing information from the Red Cross, confirmed that the bodies of the four slain hostages have been handed over to the humanitarian organisation. Hamas had claimed Israel would simultaneously release over 400 Palestinian prisoners, but Israeli authorities insisted they would wait until the hostages' remains arrived and were properly identified.

Image Credit: The Sun [Man placing orange balloons at a grave covered in flowers.]

The return of the bodies will not mark an immediate end to the agony. Israel's Health Ministry confirmed earlier on Wednesday it was preparing to identify the remains at the Kerem Shalom crossing, located on the Gaza border. Once identification is complete, the bodies will be transported to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Jaffa for post-mortems to determine the exact causes of death.

Image Credit: The Sun [A man mourning at a coffin draped with an Israeli flag.]

If field identification proves difficult, the bodies may need to be transferred to Abu Kabir for further examination, potentially extending the process by hours or even days. A source in Israeli media added that the release of Palestinian prisoners will only occur once the slain hostages' identities are positively confirmed.

Image Credit: The Sun [Mourners at a funeral ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel, holding orange balloons and Israeli flags.]

This move is a response to past mistakes, including the incident where Hamas initially handed over the wrong body – a mix-up involving a Gazan woman instead of Shiri Bibas. The error, which was later rectified, has led to a lack of trust, prompting Israel to insist on thorough identification procedures.

Image Credit: The Sun [A large crowd gathers in Tel Aviv to mourn the Bibas family.]

French President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute to dual-national Ohad Yahalomi, one of the four, saying: “all my heart is with the family and loved ones.”. Israelis are in mourning as the Bibas family — Shiri and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir —were buried today after Hamas admitted the group had 'mistakenly' destroyed their remains.

Image Credit: The Sun [Illustration of a three-phase peace deal for the Middle East, showing ceasefire, hostage release, and border details.]

Their fate, which was revealed last week, has sparked further outrage over the hostage crisis. US President Donald Trump condemned Hamas over the handover, saying: “They think they’re doing us a favor by sending us bodies. This is a vicious group of people.”.

During a cabinet meeting, he reflected on the desperation of hostage families. “I’ve spoken to a lot of the parents… They want those bodies almost as much, and maybe even just as much, as they wanted their son or their daughter," he recalled. The latest release follows Israel’s decision to halt a previous prisoner swap after Hamas staged what Israeli officials called "humiliating" public celebrations, shamelessly parading freed captives in Gaza.

Tonight’s exchange is being conducted in private to avoid similar scenes. The Israel Prison Service has confirmed that Palestinian prisoners will only be released once the bodies are officially identified. However, a Hamas official claims the inmates should have been freed simultaneously and that the terror group had already agreed to the deal proposed by mediators.

Despite Hamas’s attempts to leverage the hostage crisis, the return of the four bodies marks the final exchange under the first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement. As Israel grapples with the latest hostage handover, thousands of mourners lined the streets for the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, whose deaths were only confirmed last week.

Their heartbroken husband and father, Yarden Bibas, led the emotional farewell, delivering a gut-wrenching eulogy as his wife and two boys were laid to rest in the same coffin. “Shiri, I love you and will always love you! Shiri, you are everything to me! You are the best wife and mother there could be,” he said.

“Shiri, please watch over me… Guard me so I don’t sink into darkness, I love you!”. Fighting back tears, he addressed his sons. “Ariel, I hope you’re not angry with me for failing to protect you properly and for not being there for you. I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute.”.

He spoke of nine-month-old Kfir, recalling their cherished morning routines. “Kfir, I love you the most in the world, always in the world! I have so many more things to tell you all, but I’ll save them for when we’re alone.”. The Bibas family's final journey took them through Rishon Lezion, where mourners waved Israeli flags and released hundreds of orange balloons – a tribute to the brothers' hair colour.

The motorcade passed through Yavne, Ashdod, and Ashkelon before reaching Sha’ar HaNegev, near the Gaza border. In Tel Aviv, huge crowds gathered in Hostages Square to watch a live stream of the procession. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence was also illuminated in orange in their honor.