Israel Grieves as Remains of Hostages are Returned
On a chilly late winter day, painted with a gray sky and sporadic heavy rainfall, the Israeli populace faced a moment they had feared for over 500 days: the return of the dead. The day began with a charged spectacle from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups who had held Israeli hostages.
They set up a stage flanked by large posters emphasizing the disastrous impact of Israel's military engagements in Gaza and the Palestinians' resolve to remain. Four black coffins, each adorned with a photograph and a name - Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were displayed, accompanied by a picture of Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Missile shells carried the message: "They were killed by US bombs." Hamas has consistently claimed that the four were victims of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, though this has not been confirmed.
Red Cross officials were present to oversee the proceedings. They had earlier made a rare public plea to Hamas to conduct the exchange privately and respectfully. Despite their efforts, their call went unheeded, prompting them to shield the coffins with white sheets from public view before departing.
The crowd on this day was smaller than usual, perhaps owing to the inclement weather. Following a military ceremony at the edge of the Gaza Strip, the coffins were covered with Israeli flags and prayers were offered by the army's chief rabbi. A vehicle convoy then journeyed north to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Jaffa, where official identification of the remains is underway.
Along that path, groups of Israelis stood quietly in the rain, brandishing Israeli flags and yellow banners - the latter a symbol associated with the hostages and their supporters. The scene was particularly somber in Karmei Gat, where displaced residents from the kibbutz Nir Oz are temporarily residing.
All four of the hostages whose remains were returned were taken from Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. Hostages Square in Tel Aviv was a tableau of sorrow, with people openly expressing their grief. Images of the Bibas boys, Ariel and Kfir, are a common sight around the country, with the hope that they and their mother, Shiri, might have survived still clinging to the hearts of many.
In Gaza, some Palestinians voiced their displeasure that the bodies of Israelis had been returned, while countless Palestinians killed during Israel's military actions remain buried amidst the destruction in Gaza. Furthermore, The National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of the Martyrs, a Palestinian protest group, alleges that as many as 665 bodies are being held by Israel in numbered graveyards, some for decades.
Meanwhile, in a gesture of diplomacy, Israel allowed bulldozers bearing Egyptian flags to enter northern Gaza, in exchange for the return of six more living hostages slated for the upcoming Saturday.