“The hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said as the bodies of four hostages taken alive by Hamas in its attack on Tel Aviv on October 7, 2023, were returned to the city.

According to Hamas, the bodies are those of a mother and two children from the Bibas family. After conducting a forensic examination, Israel has only confirmed the identity of the fourth, Oded Lifschitz, 84, a veteran peace activist.

In a post on social media platform X, President Herzog wrote “there are no words” and begged the four for forgiveness for “not bringing you home safely.”

It is the first time Hamas has returned captured bodies since the ceasefire began last month.

Following Hamas’s handover of the four bodies, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square for a minute of silence to mourn the dead. Six living hostages are set to be released on Saturday.

Shiri Bibas, 33, and her sons, who would now be five and two years old, were killed, causing a nationwide outpouring of sadness. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that they had been killed in an Israeli air attack, but provided no evidence. The Israeli authorities never verified the claim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israelis in a video statement, saying the country was “united in unbearable grief.” Every home in Israel is bowing its head today.

During the handover, a Red Cross representative appeared to sign documents at a table alongside armed Hamas members before the four coffins were moved to trucks owned by the humanitarian organisation.

According to United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, the handover was “abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law”.

Following the handover, the bodies were delivered to Israeli soldiers in Gaza and transported to Israel. People crowded the streets, many holding Israeli flags and yellow ones referring to the hostages, as a police vehicle carrying coffins passed past. The bodies have been brought to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Jaffa, Israel, for post-mortem examinations.

-Deeprows News