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Hamas on Thurs­day re­leased the bod­ies of four Is­raeli hostages, said to in­clude a moth­er and her two chil­dren who have long been feared dead and had come to em­body the na­tion’s agony fol­low­ing the Oct. 7, 2023, at­tack.

The re­mains were said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two chil­dren, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lif­shitz, who was 83 when he was ab­duct­ed. Kfir, who was 9 months old when he was tak­en, was the youngest cap­tive. Hamas has said all four were killed along with their guards in Is­raeli airstrikes.

“Our hearts — the hearts of an en­tire na­tion — lie in tat­ters,” Is­raeli Pres­i­dent Isaac Her­zog said in a state­ment. “On be­half of the State of Is­rael, I bow my head and ask for for­give­ness. For­give­ness for not pro­tect­ing you on that ter­ri­ble day. For­give­ness for not bring­ing you home safe­ly.”