'One of the hardest days': Israelis gather for return of hostage bodies

The Palestinian militants had handed over black coffins they said contained the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two young boys, Kfir and Ariel -- who became symbols of the ordeal that has gripped Israel since the Gaza war began.

The Red Cross-mediated handover, which Hamas said also included the body of elderly captive Oded Lifshitz, took place at a former cemetery in the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

It is the first handover of bodies by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, and is taking place under a fragile ceasefire that has seen living hostages exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Some 100 Israelis had also gathered at the Tel Aviv plaza dubbed Hostages Square -- site of regular protests for the release of the hostages.

"This is one of the hardest days, I think, since October 7," said museum manager Tania Coen Uzzielli, 59, who had gathered in the square with around 100 others.

"I think the feeling of personal guilt is something each of us carries -- that maybe we could have done more, that maybe we didn't do enough to prevent this tragedy."

Large screens in the square showed images of the Bibas family and Lifshitz, while orange balloons symbolised the red hair of the two Bibas children, who were aged four and nine months at the time of their capture.

The family became national symbols of the despair that has gripped the nation since the Hamas attack and hostage takings.

Footage of their abduction, filmed and broadcast by Hamas during its attack, showed them being seized from their home near the Gaza border.

Yarden Bibas, the boys' father and Shiri's husband, was abducted separately and released in a hostage-prisoner exchange on February 1.

While their deaths have largely been accepted as fact abroad since Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed them early in the war, Israel had never confirmed.

"There are no other words, I am heart broken," said Sharon Gazit, 60, a Tel Aviv resident who had also gathered in Hostages Square.
'Ask for forgiveness'
Israel confirmed the convoy carrying the coffins had reached its territory but refrained from identifying the dead hostages.

The bodies were to be taken from Kissufim in southern Israel to an institute of forensic medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

President Isaac Herzog said "the hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters".

"On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely", he said in a statement.

Hundreds of Gazans had gathered in Khan Yunis to witness the handover.

Large numbers of armed men in military fatigues and Hamas headbands stood near the stage for the ceremony, which was carefully choreographed like previous handovers of live hostages.

Each coffin bore a small photograph of the deceased.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire which took effect on January 19, militants have so far freed 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.

Another six living hostages are to be released on Saturday while four more bodies are to be handed over next week.

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during their attack. Prior to Thursday's handover, there were 70 hostages in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.