Israeli policemen salute as the convoy of vehicles transporting the bodies of the four Israeli hostages, handed over by Hamas, enters the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv on Thursday —AFP

Agencies Khan YOUNIS (Gaza Strip)

Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages for the first time as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.  The armed group says the bodies are  those of a mother, Shiri Bibas, and her two young sons,  Ariel and Kfir, who were aged nine months and four years when they were abducted besides that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir was the youngest captive. Hamas has said all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes.

The mother and children trio  had come to embody the nation's agony following the October 7, 2023 attack. The militants displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including a large one depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. Each casket bore a small photo of each of the dead. White mock-up missiles placed near the coffins bore the inscription: "They were killed by USA bombs." The fighters then carried the coffins over to Red Cross vehicles, where staffers in red vests covered them in white sheets before placing them inside.

The Red Cross convoy headed back to Israel, where authorities will carry out the formal identification of the remains using DNA testing, which is expected to take up to two days. Only then will the families be given the final notification. The Israeli military confirmed it had received the coffins. Israeli channels did not broadcast the handover. In Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where Israelis have gathered to watch the release of living hostages, a large screen showed a compilation of photos and videos of Lifshitz and the Bibas family, including a chuckling baby Kfir and the family dressed up in Batman costumes.

Israelis have celebrated the return of 24 living hostages in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that paused over 15 months of war. But the handover on Thursday provides a grim reminder of those who died in captivity as the talks leading up to the truce dragged on for over a year.

It could also provide an impetus for negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire that have hardly begun. The first phase is set to end at the beginning of March. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday would be "a very difficult day for the State of Israel -- a heartbreaking day, a day of grief".

Bibas family

The Bibas family said in a statement on Wednesday that it would wait for "identification procedures" before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead. Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange in solidarity with the family – a reference to two boys' red hair – and a popular children's song was written in their honor.

Oded Lifshitz

Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife Yocheved, who was freed during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Oded was a journalist who campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. Israel and Hamas announced a deal earlier this week for the return of the remains of eight hostages in two groups this week and next, as well as the release of the last six living Israeli captives on Saturday.