The United Nations human rights chief has condemned Hamas's handover of dead hostages in southern Gaza, accusing the group of disrespecting the remains of the foreign Israelis and their families.
The bodies of mother Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir were released by the militant group on Thursday morning local time, along with the remains of former journalist and peace activist Oded Lifshitz.
The four were presented in black coffins to the International Red Cross in Khan Younis, in the war-ravaged strip's south, where they were then driven back to Israel.
Before balaclava-wearing Hamas militants presented them to humanitarians, the coffins sat on a podium in front of banners and posters accusing Israel of their death.
One of the banners depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire, looming over the four dead hostages — with the words "the war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi Army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes".
Another poster depicted a Hamas militant standing over coffins draped in the Israeli flag, with the slogan "the return of war = the return of your prisoners in coffins".
In a statement, United Nations Human Rights Volker Turk slammed Hamas' display.
"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," he said.
Israel's government has also condemned the handover ceremony.
Remains of Oded Lifshitz quickly identified by Israeli authorities
The bodies of the Bibas family and Mr Lifshitz were driven to the Israel Gaza border by the Red Cross, before they were presented to the Israel Defense Forces.
A military ceremony was held at the site, before the coffins were draped in Israeli flags and loaded into three white vans for the journey back into Israel.
From there, a convoy made the journey north to Tel Aviv, and the country's national forensics institute.
Many Israelis lined the highway to catch a glimpse of the vans as they drove past and hundreds gathered outside the morgue as they arrived, despite government calls to stay away, given the sensitivity of the situation.
Once inside the forensics centre, the work of formally identifying the remains and establishing the cause of death began — a process authorities warned could take some time due to concerns about the condition of the bodies.
The family of Oded Lifshitz confirmed just hours after his body arrived that he had been formally identified, with the Israeli government saying he was "murdered in captivity" by the Palestiniann Islamic jihad group.
"503 agonising days of uncertainty have come to an end. We had hoped and prayed so much for a different outcome," the family said in a statement.
"Now we can mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been missing from us since October 7.
"Our family's healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned."
Sombre scenes at Hostage Square
In recent weeks, the handovers have been watched by large crowds gathering at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square — with proceedings broadcast live on video screens.
But on Thursday morning, there was a much more sombre tone at the site.
Instead of vision from Gaza, photos of Israeli hostages were displayed and the square was filled with hundreds of Israeli flags adorned with the yellow ribbon symbol of the hostage movement.
Some of those who did gather cried and prayed, as the news came through the bodies had been presented to the Red Cross.
"Heartbroken," onlooker Omri Snir said when asked how he felt.
"These people were just living their lives and they were abducted from their homes and murdered.
"It's something we cannot allow, and we're devastated."
He said the collective grief should be channelled towards pressuring the Netanyahu government and Hamas to extending the ceasefire in Gaza, so all remaining hostages — living and dead — were returned.
British-Israeli woman Hannah Skilleter fought back tears as she spoke about the Bibas children.
"I've been thinking about the family every day since the war started," she said.
"I have my own son who's almost four, and you just can't even think about it."
More Israelis and Palestinians to be freed on Saturday
While Israelis were critical of the display in Gaza on Thursday morning, the remains of many Palestinians killed during Israel's bombardment of Gaza are feared to still be under rubble across the war ravaged strip.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, which began when Hamas launched its deadly attacks on Israel on October 7 2023.
Almost 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 abducted on that day, kickstarting the devastating conflict in Gaza.
Hamas is expected to free another six Israelis on Saturday — the last of the living hostages slated for release during the six-week ceasefire in Gaza.
That, in turn, will prompt Israeli authorities to release many more Palestinians held in Israeli jails — including women and children detained since the war began.
Questions will be asked as to why that cohort were detained in the first place, and what threat they posed.
Hamas is expected to hand over another four Israeli bodies next week.
Dozens of remaining hostages, both living and dead, will only be freed if the fragile truce in Gaza is extended.
The current deal is due to lapse on March 2, and talks on "phase two" of the ceasefire had been delayed.
Those negotiations will be far more complex than the talks which led to the initial pause in fighting, and will have to deal with the future governance of Gaza as well as the rebuilding efforts.
