An Israeli government spokesman slammed Hamas as a “death cult” after it paraded the coffins containing the remains of four civilian hostages, including those of a baby and a child, during a propaganda stage show in Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday morning.
“Hamas is not a resistance movement. Hamas is a death cult that murders, that tortures and parades dead bodies,” government spokesman David Mencer told journalists during a press briefing.
The Palestinian terrorist organization “has no place amongst civilized nations. It has no place in Gaza,” he said.
One of the bodies has been identified as belonging to hostage Oded Lifshitz, his family confirmed on Thursday afternoon after identification at the National Center of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv.
The other remains handed over by the Palestinian terror organization were said to be those of Shiri Bibas (32 when captured on Oct. 7, 2023) and her sons, Ariel (4 when taken) and Kfir (9 months old when taken).
The four bodies were transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross after the propaganda ceremony attended by members of Hamas’s “military wing,” Gaza civilians and terrorists released under the auspices of previous prisoner swaps.
The Red Cross handed the coffins to Israel Defense Forces troops and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers inside Gaza. A short military ceremony was conducted by the Israel Defense Forces’ chief rabbi before the bodies were escorted to Tel Aviv for identification.
Jerusalem filed a complaint with mediators and the Red Cross after the Hamas stage show, saying that it breached the terms of their agreement.
