The bodies presumed to be of the youngest Israelis held hostage by Hamas have been returned to Israel, dashing the hopes of a nation hoping for a happier ending.

JERUSALEM: Hamas handed over the bodies on Thursday (Feb 20) of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in their Oct 7, 2023 attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day.

Hamas is set to return the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including 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,