EIGHT hostages due for release have been killed during their cruel imprisonment by Hamas, Israel says.
The captives appear to have died in the tunnels beneath Gaza during their sick 15-month long detention after they were snatched on October 7, 2023.
Some 33 of around 90 hostages were set to be traded back to Israel as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal inked earlier this month.
Israel said it was informed of the eight deaths on Sunday night by Hamas when it was given a list of the 33 that would be released.
It is not yet clear who the eight deceased are as Israeli hostage families desperately cling on to hope.
Hamas claims the other 25 in the swap are still alive with the next release of hostages takes place on Saturday.
Seven in the group of 33 have already been returned home.
Families of the hostages have been left in an agonising wait to see whether their loved ones have survived.
One of those families is the Bibas, who don’t know whether Kfir and Ariel, just two and five years old when they were snatched, are still alive.
Yarden and Shiri, along with their children, are among the hostages scheduled to be released in the initial six-week phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement.
Relatives are yet to hear any news on whether the family could be dead or alive.
In a statement on Monday, the Bibas family said it still held on to hope.
They said: “We said then and we say now, we hold on to hope and await their return. We await certainty regarding their condition.
Israel has emphasized that the list provided by Hamas concerning the abducted individuals does not alter their stance. Whether it be a list of names, a statement from Hamas, or any video evidence presented, Israel remains steadfast in its position.
Last year, Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli air strike – something Israel has not confirmed.
The Bibas family said their “world came crashing down” after they saw that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were not on the list to be freed on Saturday.
The terms of the deal state children and female captives would be released first.
Israel accused Hamas of breaching the peace deal after the terror group released four women IDF soldiers instead of civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud.
In response, Hamas pledged to release two more woman, but did not again mention Shiri Bibas and her children.
The initial phase of the ceasefire is set to last until the beginning of March. During this period, Hamas will release 33 hostages, while Israel will release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The exchanged come as thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning home to the north of war-ravaged Gaza.
Israel had prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after a new agreement was reached.
Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage who it maintained should have been freed on Saturday.
But Netanyahu’s office later said a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday, including Yehud, as well as another three on Saturday.
Hamas had said blocking the return of Palestinians amounted to a truce violation.
Large crowds of people moved through the now-open Netzarim Corridor into the north, watched over by Israeli tanks.
Some pulled carts weighed down with mattresses and other essentials while others carried what belongings they could.
What happened on October 7?
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival – killing at least 364 people there alone.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 15 months of devastation that followed.
