The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the Red Cross received four caskets containing the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and they are being transferred to the IDF forces in the Palestinian enclave.
“According to information communicated by the Red Cross, four caskets of deceased hostages were transferred to them, and they are being taken to IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency] forces in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bodies would be transferred to the national forensics center for identification.
“Israel has – through the Red Cross – received the coffins of four deceased hostages. The coffins were transferred to an IDF force and the ISA, inside the Gaza Strip, from where they will be transferred to Israel, to the Health Ministry’s National Center of Forensic Medicine,” the statement read.
Israeli radio station Kan reported that the IDF planned to hold a memorial ceremony in the Gaza Strip for the four deceased hostages, identified as 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir.
The bodies were handed over to Israel as part of a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian movement Hamas, which has been in effect in the Gaza Strip since January 19. Israel estimates that 69 hostages, including those declared dead, remain in the Palestinian enclave.
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