JERUSALEM (news agencies) — The bodies of four Israelis taken captive by Hamas, including those said to be of the last female and child hostages in Gaza, were released Thursday, bringing to 28 the number of captives freed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Jan. 19.
The bodies returned to Israel are presumed to include Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, whose plight has captivated Israelis since they were taken during Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The body of one of the oldest hostages held was also said to have been returned. The remains now need to be formally identified.
In the first phase of the ceasefire deal, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza — eight of whom are dead — are supposed to be freed in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Five Thai citizens who were working in Israel on the day of the attack were freed last month as part of a separate deal.
Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza. More than 60 hostages remain in Gaza, although about half are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued, or their bodies recovered.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but says more than half were women or children.
Here’s a look at the hostages returned so far:
The bodies said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were returned Thursday. They were abducted along with Shiri’s husband, Yarden, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas said the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Yarden Bibas was released earlier this month during the ceasefire deal.
A video capturing their abduction showed a terrified Shiri Bibas swaddling her two redheaded sons in a blanket and being carried away by militants. The footage ricocheted around the world in the hours after the attack began.
Ariel was 4 years old at the time of the attack and his brother, Kfir, was 9 months old, making him the youngest captive taken by Hamas. Ariel Bibas loved Batman and family photos showed the four Bibases dressed as the character. Kfir, the infant with red hair and a toothless smile, became a symbol across Israel for the feelings of helplessness and anger over the hostages’ captivity.
The body said to be of Oded Lifshitz, one of the oldest hostages held by the militants, was returned Thursday. He was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, who was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Oded Lifshitz was shot in the hand in the attack. His family has suspected for months that he died in captivity.
The couple are among the founders of Nir Oz. Oded, a journalist, campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. In retirement, he drove to the Erez border crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip once a week to ferry Palestinians to medical appointments in Israel as part of a group called On the Way to Recovery.
Oded took pride in his work helping the traditionally nomadic Bedouin people of the Negev Desert, his daughter told media, describing a case that went to Israel’s High Court and resulted in the return of some of their land.
An Israeli-American, Chen was working outside on his pet project, bus conversions, when militants stormed his kibbutz. He instructed his wife, Avital, to hide in the safe room with their two daughters. Chen, one of the first people to raise alarm of the infiltration on the kibbutz, was taken captive.
Avital was seven months pregnant at the time of the attack; she gave birth to a third daughter, Shachar Mazal, in December 2023.
Chen is an avid tennis player who co-founded an arts center for young people in southern Israel, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group representing the families of hostages,
Horn is an Israel-Argentinian who was taken captive along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan Horn remains in captivity and his name is not on the list of hostages to be released during the ceasefire’s first phase.
Iair Horn managed the kibbutz pub and is a fan of the local soccer team in Beer Sheba, according to the hostages forum. Friends gathered at the kibbutz pub on Nir Oz to watch Horn’s release from captivity and to toast his return, according to Israeli media.
Sasha Trufanov, an Israeli-Russian, was taken hostage along with three members of his family: grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and girlfriend Sapir Cohen. His father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023. The rest of his family was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Sasha Troufanov works as an engineer for Amazon, according to the hostages forum. His family immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union 25 years ago.
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