For the return of four murdered Israeli hostages, Shiri, Ariel, Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, Hamas built a stage east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip to publicize the event on Thursday.
Hundreds of Gaza citizens, including recently released Palestinian prisoners, children, and infants, were seen in the crowd as Hamas terrorists paraded four black coffins on their decorated stage before passing them off to members of the Red Cross.
The propaganda event has sparked anger alongside widespread grief and mourning from global leaders.
Parading of bodies in Gaza is abhorrent
The United Nations rights chief said the parading of bodies in Gaza is abhorrent and flies in the face of international law, Reuters shared.
“Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families”, Volker Turk said in a statement.
Former Israeli ambassador to the UN and the US, Gilad Erdan, compared the Palestinians in Gaza to the Nazis in an X/Twitter post.
“Even in Nazi Germany, there were Germans who saved Jews. Not a single Gazan saved a single hostage.”
Erdan continued, “Many, many ‘innocent’ Gazans took part in the kidnapping & murder, and many more came out today and on October 7th to celebrate the return of Jewish babies in coffins. “
Even in Nazi Germany, there were Germans who saved Jews.Not a single Gazan saved a single hostage.Many many ‘innocent’ Gazans took part in the kidnapping & murder and many more came out today and on October 7th to celebrate the return of Jewish babies in coffins. Hamas must… https://t.co/WMyv02keou
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) February 20, 2025
Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland expressed his anger over Hamas terrorists handling of the hostage release on X, “Civilians should never be exchanged as pawns in a power game.”
“All hostages and arbitrarily detained civilians must be released without conditions.”
‘Pure evil’
UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis shared on X, “It is pure evil to take a mother and her young children and an elderly man hostage. It takes another layer of evil to be responsible for their deaths.
“And yet a further layer of evil to trade their bodies to release hundreds of prisoners, including terrorists serving life sentences for murder.”
“This is what Israel is up against,” Mirvis stressed.
It is pure evil to take a mother and her young children and an elderly man hostage. It takes another layer of evil to be responsible for their deaths. And yet a further layer of evil to trade their bodies to release hundreds of prisoners including terrorists serving life… pic.twitter.com/HiUnaz1Xq5
— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) February 20, 2025
The National Union of Journalists shared a message in honor of Oded Lifshitz, “The NUJ extends its condolences to the family of Oded Lifshitz. Today, Hamas completed handing over four deceased hostages to the Red Cross & journalist Lifshitz was among them. The NUJ had called for his release after his kidnapping in Kibbutz Nir Oz in 2023.”
Lifshitz, a lifelong peace and Palestinian rights advocate worked for years for Al HaMishmar before his retirement. He reported extensively on the Bedouins in Israel and reportedly took a case to the High Court, which resulted in the return of some of their land, according to a previous article from The Jerusalem Post.
‘May their souls rest in peace’
Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua L. Zarka expressed his condolences on X, “On this day of mourning, may the melody of Oded’s piano accompany us, and may the laughter of Ariel and Kfir Bibas resonate in our hearts.
After more than 500 days held in the gates of hell, may their souls rest in peace.”
German parliament member Lamya Kaddor shared, “The news of the death of Bibas family is unbearable. The perfidious spectacle of the hostage handover is also unbearable. My thoughts today are with father Yarden Bibas, who himself was freed from Hamas captivity only three weeks ago.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
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