The family of hostages Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, the last remaining Israeli children held in Gaza, said Tuesday that they had received no "official confirmation" of their deaths after Hamas said it would return their bodies this week.
Of the 33 hostages set to be freed under phase one of the deal, 19 have already been released and Israel says eight are dead. That leaves just six living hostages slated for release in the current stage.
"We have been in turmoil following (the) Hamas spokesperson's announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday," a statement from the Israeli-Argentine family said, adding they had "not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter."
At the time of the kidnapping, Kfir was only nine months old and turned two years old on January 18 in captivity, while his brother Ariel turned five.
As the youngest person captured by Hamas, Kfir quickly became a well-known symbol of the violence committed against the hostages, with his face printed on Israeli protest signs and international media following his first and second birthdays.
Israel said Tuesday it expects the bodies of four hostages held in Gaza to be returned on Thursday, ahead of the release of six living captives on Saturday, confirming an earlier announcement from Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office added that four additional hostage bodies would be returned to Israel next week.
A Palestinian source close to the negotiation “to increase the number" of living captives to be released during the seventh hostage-prisoner swap on Saturday.
"The mediators are continuing their efforts as they aim for this step to create a positive atmosphere, insisting on the continuation of the ceasefire and the implementation of the agreement," a Palestinian source close to the negotiation said.
The fragile truce took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Since the first phase of the ceasefire began, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Tuesday that Israel would begin negotiations "this week" on the second phase of the truce, which aims to lay out a more permanent end to the war.
— Times/AFP
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