Israel has received a list of the names of the deceased hostages that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is to hand over in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
The relatives of the hostages have been informed, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement published on Wednesday.
“At this difficult hour, our hearts are with the grieving families,” the statement said.
It added that further information will be provided, and requested that people refrain from spreading rumours and unofficial information.
According to Hamas and Israeli media reports, the four deceased hostages include a mother and two small children, as well as an elderly man.
Israel has anxiously awaited the names to confirm the fate of members of the Bibas family.
Yarden Bibas was freed on February 1. Video footage of his wife, Shiri, and their two red-headed young sons, Ariel and Kfir, during their abduction was seen around the world following the attacks by Hamas and other militants on October 7, 2023.
Hamas previously said that members of the Bibas family are among the deceased hostages.
The militant group has claimed the three Bibas family members were killed in Israeli attacks in the early months of the ensuing war in Gaza, but Israel has never confirmed their deaths.
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