The Israeli government has confirmed the identities of the deceased hostages to be released from Gaza on Thursday.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters confirmed the deaths of Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz, a journalist and peace activist, all murdered while held captive by Hamas.

“We’ve received the devastating news of Shiri Bibas, her children, and Oded Lifshitz’s deaths. This is heartbreaking for their families and the world,” the organization stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed receiving the list of deceased hostages on Wednesday.

“Israel received the list of deceased hostages for release tomorrow, as per the agreement. Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, Coordinator for Hostages and the Missing, informed the families through IDF representatives,” Netanyahu’s office announced.

Following Wednesday’s news of his death, Lifshitz’s family released a statement.

“These are difficult times. We learned our beloved Oded is among the deceased hostages to be returned tomorrow. He was abducted from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home. For 502 days, we hoped for a different outcome. Until we have absolute confirmation, our journey isn’t over; even then, we’ll fight until every hostage returns,” the family said. “We request media and public respect for our privacy.”

The Bibas family also issued a statement.

“Devastating news must come through official channels after identification. We ask that eulogies be withheld until final confirmation,” the family requested.

This confirmation follows Hamas’ Saturday release of three hostages—Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Iair Horn—in exchange for over 300 Palestinian prisoners, as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement.

Troufanov holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, Dekel-Chen is American-Israeli, and Horn is Israeli-Argentinean.

The Palestinian prisoners’ release from Israeli jails was part of the sensitive ceasefire agreement, which has held despite U.S. President ‘s threat of escalation if Hamas didn’t release all remaining hostages. Trump also stated his intention for the U.S. to acquire Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere.

Hamas briefly delayed the release, accusing Israel of violating the agreement regarding aid delivery, but the hostages were released on schedule, and the ceasefire remains in effect. Israel stated it would resume fighting if hostages weren’t freed.

Around 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. Almost all remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, are male, with about half believed deceased.

The first phase of the ceasefire involved the release of 24 hostages and over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. This included Hamas’ release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

‘ Landon Mion contributed to this report.