Ben Sales reports for JTA.
Hamas has returned bodies of of four Israeli hostages who were killed in captivity in Gaza—the final group of hostages to be released under the terms of the first phase of a ceasefire that began last month.
The four hostages, all men 50 or older, were abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Unlike previous hostage releases under the current ceasefire, their bodies were handed to Israel quietly, without a public ceremony early on Thursday morning.
That stipulation came after Hamas paraded the coffins of three deceased hostages, an elderly man and two young children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, in front of a crowd last week in a macabre ceremony.
A fourth coffin last week was thought to contain the remains of the boys’ mother, Shiri, but instead contained the body of an unidentified Palestinian woman. Shiri Bibas’ body was returned a day later. The Palestinian woman’s body has reportedly been returned to Gaza.
In response, Israel postponed the release of more than 600 Palestinian security prisoners. As Israel confirmed the identity of the dead hostages, those prisoners were released.
The four hostages are:
- Itzhak Elgarat, 70, a dual Danish-Israeli citizen who was reportedly shot in the hand on Oct. 7. His family said they were told after the ceasefire began that he was likely deceased.
- Tsahi Idan, 50, who was seen being held with his crying family in a widely circulated video of the Oct. 7 attack. He was abducted in front of his wife and children after seeing his oldest daughter shot to death.
- Shlomo Mantzur, 86, who was born in Iraq and survived the Farhud, a 1941 antisemitic pogrom in Baghdad, before moving to Israel. He was the oldest hostage remaining in Gaza. Israel announced in February 2025 that he had been killed on Oct. 7.
- Ohad Yahalomi, 50, a French-Israeli citizen who was reportedly shot on Oct. 7 before being abducted. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, “All my heart is with the family and loved ones of our compatriot Ohad Yahalomi. In these suspended hours of pain and anguish, the Nation stands by their side.”
The release came after the funeral of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas on Wednesday morning in Israel.
Fifty-nine hostages remain captive in Gaza, around half of whom are thought to be dead. A second stage of the ceasefire would see all living hostages released in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Whether that stage goes into effect depends on negotiations that are currently ongoing.
