An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages described the deaths of three members of the Bibas family as "heart-shattering" Wednesday as Hamas prepared to hand over their bodies.

"We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

Yarden Bibas, the boys' father and Shiri's husband, was abducted separately on October 7, 2023 and was released from the Gaza Strip in a previous hostage-prisoner exchange on February 1.

The remains of his family and those of another dead hostage are due to be handed over by Hamas on Thursday, ahead of the release Saturday of six living hostages.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it had the names of the hostages whose bodies Hamas is set to hand over, and had "updated the families".

In a separate statement, Netanyahu said: "Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel -- a heartbreaking day, a day of grief. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages -- fallen heroes."

Hamas on Wednesday signalled a willingness to free all remaining hostages held in the Palestinian territory in a single swap during the next phase of an ongoing ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing........

© Al Monitor