Holding flags and braving cold and intermittently stormy weather, Israelis gathered Thursday to line the route of a convoy carrying what are believed to be the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages — Shiri Bibas, her sons Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz — who were abducted alive by terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Four coffins were transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross Thursday morning in a propaganda-filled ceremony in Khan Younis, and were then handed over to the Israel Defense Forces inside Gaza.

Following a brief military ceremony, a convoy carrying the coffins, now draped in Israeli flags, crossed the border into Israel in IDF ambulances and were driven to the Abu Kabir forensic institute near Tel Aviv for identification.

As the IDF convoy exited Gaza, police officers and soldiers gathered to salute and pay their respects, waving flags and bowing their heads.

Near Kibbutz Re’im, in southern Israel, one of the communities hit hardest by the Hamas attacks, dozens stood on the side of the road as the convoy passed.

Footage showed dozens of people standing in the rain with umbrellas and yellow flags representing solidarity with the hostages. Some groups held moments of silence, while others sang the national anthem,........

© The Times of Israel