Hamas’s hostage exchange comes to the delivery of the Bibas family bodies

The disturbing image of Shiri Bibas hugging his children on October 7 appeared once again on the covers of Israeli newspapers on Wednesday, while a collective feeling of anguish was installed after Hamas said on Tuesday that he would return their bodies.

The images of his kidnapping, recorded and transmitted by Militants of Hamas during his unprecedented 2023 attack against Israel, showed the 34 -year -old mother already her children Ariel, then four years old, and Kfir, of only nine months, being kidnapped from his house near the border with Gaza. The images, and those of the children in particular, quickly became national symbols of the terrible experience of hostages.

On Tuesday, Hamas declared that he would deliver the bodies of four hostages, including three members of the Bibas family, as part of the first phase of a high -fire agreement in Gaza. Although their deaths are widely accepted as a fact abroad after Hamás said they died in an Israeli air attack at the beginning of the war, Israel has never confirmed the statement and many remain without being convinced, including the Bibas family.

“In the last hours we have been shocked after the announcement of the spokesman for Hamas about the expected return of our Shiri, Ariel and Kfir this Thursday,” said the Bibas family in a statement on Tuesday. “Until we receive definitive confirmation, our trip will not be over.” Yarden Bibas, the father of the children and husband of Shiri, was kidnapped separately on October 7 and was released from Gaza in an exchange of hostages and prisoners anterior on February 1.

Campaign for the Bibas family

Since the attack, his sister, Effri Bibas, has fought a tireless campaign for his freedom. «I ask that nobody praises my family yet. We have maintained hope for 16 months and we will not give up now, ”he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night after Hamas’s announcement. Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages will be returned on Thursday, although they have not officially identified them. The National Forensic Institute of Tel Aviv has mobilized 10 doctors to accelerate the identification process, Kan’s publishing station reported Wednesday. For its part, the Red Cross requested privacy and dignity before the expected liberation of the bodies of the hostages of Gaza.

This Wednesday, the Islamist group said to be willing to free all hostages retained in Gaza in a single exchange during the next phase, if Israel ends war. Something that did not receive an answer yet.

Within the framework of the first phase of Alto El Fuego, 19 Israeli hostages have been released so far by militants in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners released. Once the first phase is completed, 58 hostages will remain in Gaza.