Hamas had been displaying living hostages and coffins holding hostage remains on stage in front of crowds in Gaza before handing them over, inciting criticism including from the United Nations. The final handover did not include such a ceremony.
President Isaac Herzog in a post on X confirmed the bodies received overnight were those of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzur, all abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack from their kibbutz homes near Gaza.
"In this painful moment, there is some solace in knowing that they will be laid to rest in dignity in Israel," he wrote.
Idan, Yahalomi, and Elgarat were murdered in captivity in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, while Mantzur was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack.