The Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza have handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives to the International Red Cross, marking the first part of a long-awaited prisoner exchange deal.
This exchange, which is expected to be completed next Saturday, will see the release of six living Israeli captives in return for the freedom of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life sentences.
The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.From the handover of the bodies of four Israeli captives—Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children, Ariel and Kfir—by the Palestinian resistance to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.
A banner depicting a monstrous, bloodied Netanyahu looming over the deceased captives… pic.twitter.com/Nl8xQo7CQN
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 20, 2025
Hundreds of Resistance fighters from the military wings of Palestinian factions participated in the solemn event, which was attended by the commander of the Eastern Battalion of the al-Qassam Brigades in Khan Younis.
According to reports, the Israeli media had initially reported that 'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew his participation in the ceremony to receive the bodies of the four Israeli captives.' However, the Israeli commanders of the eastern and northern battalions in the Khan Younis Brigade, whom the army had claimed to have killed, were present at the ceremony.
Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida stated that the bodies of the Bibas family and the remains of captive Oded Lifshitz would also be handed over, emphasizing that they were all alive before Israeli military aircraft deliberately bombed their locations in the Gaza Strip.Part of the handover process of the bodies of four Israeli captives killed by the occupation in Gaza to the International Red Cross.
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 20, 2025
The military spokesperson for the al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, Abu Hamza, also announced the decision to release the remains of Lifshitz, asserting that Israeli forces intentionally killed him during the war on Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas acknowledged that they had 'preserved the lives of the Israeli captives, provided them with what we could, and treated them humanely, but their army killed them along with their captors.' The movement stressed that 'the Zionist enemy army killed its prisoners by bombing their detention centers, and the Nazi occupation government bears full responsibility for repeatedly obstructing the exchange agreement.' The exchange process is expected to be completed next Saturday, with the release of six living Israeli captives and the freeing of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life and long sentences, as well as those who were released in the 'Shalit deal' and later re-arrested.