Mourners gather around the convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, during their funeral procession in Rishon Lezion, Israel, Wednesday, Feb.

Thousands of Israelis thronged streets along the country's central city of Rishon Lezion on Wednesday (February 26) to pay their respects to Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Kfir and Ariel, who were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7,

A funeral procession for a mother and her two young sons whose remains were handed over by Hamas is being held Wednesday morning in Rishon Lezion, Israel.

Tens of thousands of mourners Feb. 26 lined the streets as the funeral procession for Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, made its way nearly 40 miles from Rishon Lezion in central Israel to Tsoher Regional Cemetery in southern Israel.

Mourners gather around the car carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, during their funeral procession in Rishon Lezion, Israel, Wednesday, Feb.

By Rami Amichay and Nafisa Eltahir RISHON LEZION, Israel/CAIRO (Reuters) - Israelis mourned the family that symbolised the trauma their country suffered in the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, as the Palestinian militant group agreed to free the last hostage bodies included in the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

The funeral procession itself was proof that the nation’s spirit had not broken. If it had, people would not have poured into the streets as they did.

Remains of Oded Lifshitz also handed over by Hamas to the IDF. Officials say the identification process revealed they all were murdered in captivity.

At such an event, there is no shortage of things to photograph, but a lot of the time, I felt compelled to keep my camera at my side and watch the moments with my own eyes.

Israeli and Hamas officials say they have reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of dead hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas transferred to Israel the bodies of four hostages on Thursday morning local time as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the Israeli prime minister's office said. The big picture: The return of the bodies completes the release of 33 hostages as part of the first phase of the deal.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Israel to pay their respects as the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons made its way to a cemetery.