People line road near Kibbutz Re’im where IDF ambulances expected to pass shortly with bodies of four hostages

20 February 2025, 11:08 am

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People wave Israeli flags on a road near Kibbutz Re'im, southern Israel, Feb. 20, 2025, ahead of the return by Hamas of the bodies of four Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People line the road waving Israeli flags near Kibbutz Reim, in southern Israel, where IDF ambulances are shortly expected to pass carrying the bodies of four Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and returned this morning.

Footage shows dozens of people standing in the rain with umbrellas and yellow flags representing solidarity with the hostages.

בגשם שוטף: עשרות ישראלים ממתינים לארונות ארבעת החללים pic.twitter.com/ONDXjGGTf9

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) February 20, 2025

Around the country, flags are lowered to half-staff in honor of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz, who were all kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Coffins apparently containing the four slain hostages’ bodies were handed over by the Red Cross to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip a short while ago. The remains will be transported to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Israel for identification after a short military ceremony.