Hamas handed over the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross on Thursday. The coffins had been placed on a stage, with armed Hamas militants in black and camouflage uniforms surrounding the area.
The bodies of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his 4-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in its Oct 7, 2023 attack, were transported to Israel.
The bodies of the children’s mother Shiri Bibas and a fourth hostage, Oded Lifschitz, were also handed over, under the agreement for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian enclave that was reached last month.
“Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said in an emailed statement in response to Reuters questions.
