JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two young children, in the first time the remains of hostages have been released since a began in January.
The were said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir, who was 9 months old when he was taken, . Hamas has said all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes.
Formal identification could take up to two days as Israel performs DNA testing.
Hamas abducted some 250 people in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack . More than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the ensuing war.
This was the seventh exchange between Israel and Hamas during the first phase of the ceasefire, and 1,135 , though no prisoners were released on Thursday in exchange for the bodies.
Hamas had agreed to release 33 hostages for nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees during this phase. Six hostages who are still alive are expected to be released on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Negations for a second stage of the ceasefire are expected to get underway in the coming days.
Here are details on the hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023:
Total captured: 251
Hostages freed in exchanges or other deals: 137, of whom 4 died in captivity
Hostages still in captivity: 66, of whom Israel has declared 30 to be dead.
Hostages in captivity who are soldiers: 13, of whom Israel has declared 7 to be dead.
Bodies of dead hostages retrieved by Israeli troops: 40
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Non-Israelis still in captivity: 5 ( , 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 2 (1 Thai and 1 Nepalese) are believed to still be alive.
Separately:
Three Israelis have been held in Gaza since before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack: the body of one soldier killed in the 2014 war and two civilians who entered Gaza on their own in 2014 and 2015 and are believed to be alive.
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