From IDF to hold small ceremony in Gaza when it receives 4 bodies of slain hostages Thursday
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces is readying for tomorrow’s transfer by Hamas of four slain Israeli hostages, including preparations for a brief military ceremony upon receiving the bodies.
The bodies will be handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, which will bring them to Israeli forces inside the Gaza Strip.
The IDF plans to hold a respectful ceremony in Gaza upon receiving the slain hostages, with a rabbi present. The bodies will be placed in coffins draped in Israeli flags and carried by Israeli troops into IDF vehicles.
From there, the bodies will be taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute for identification.
The identification process could take up to 48 hours, officials say, depending on the condition of the remains. Within a few hours, officials are expected to update the families of the slain hostages on how much longer it will take to confirm the identity of their loved ones.
The IDF says that it will also investigate the causes of the deaths of the hostages, and that at this stage, claims made by Hamas are unverified.
The military does not know for certain at what time Hamas will hand over the four bodies, though it expects it to occur at a similar time to the recent releases of the living hostages, which have taken place in the morning.
The IDF also does not know how Hamas will hand over the bodies. During the release of living hostages, Hamas paraded the captives on a stage in front of crowds of Palestinians.
Officials have asked Israeli media to refrain from broadcasting any such events for the bodies.
Hamas has announced that tomorrow it will be handing over the bodies of Shiri Silberman Bibas and her two young children Ariel and Kfir, along with another slain hostage who has not been named.
On Saturday, Hamas will be releasing six living hostages: Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed.
Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been captive in Gaza for over a decade, after entering the Strip of their own accord. The others were abducted on October 7, 2023.
