What is going on in Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday warned the nation that Thursday will be a "shocking" and "sorrowful day" for the country ahead of the planned release of four slain hostages' bodies from Hamas control.

"Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel. A shocking day. A day of sorrow. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, fallen soldiers. We embrace the families, and the heart of an entire nation is torn asunder. My heart is torn. Yours too. The heart of the entire world will break because here we see who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with, what monsters we are dealing with. We grieve, we hurt, but we are also determined to ensure that something like this will never happen again."

The Red Cross called for privacy and dignity ahead of the expected release of hostages' bodies from Gaza on Thursday under the terms of a ceasefire.

"We must be clear: any degrading treatment during release operations is unacceptable," the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

Israel confirmed that the bodies of four hostages would be returned on Thursday.

The bodies of Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, as well as Oded Lifshitz, will be returned to Israel after 503 days in Hamas captivity.

The four hostages were taken by Hamas on October 7 from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz. 

Yarden Bibas, the father of the Bibas children, was released alive earlier this month as part of a hostage-prisoner swap.

Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were also among the 33 names listed to be released from Hamas captivity under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, but it was only revealed on Tuesday that they were not alive.

Following the revelation that the three were likely dead, the Bibas family released a statement saying they were in "turmoil."

On Tuesday, Hamas's deputy head in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group would release the dead bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday. 

The interminable, excruciating wait is over. After more than 500 days of not knowing, prayers, and unbearable suffering, the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, will at last be brought back to Israel. But this is no relief, no closure — just the searing stillness of a nightmare that never really ends.

For nearly a year and a half, the faces of Shiri, Ariel, and baby Kfir — the youngest hostage taken on October 7 — haunted all of us. We saw that heart-tearing photo: Shiri hugging her two redheaded boys, her eyes wide with fear as armed men closed in around them. We imagined their anguish, their fear, their innocence shattered by brutality.

We posed impossible questions: Was baby Kfir learning to walk? Did he begin to speak? Did he comprehend Hebrew or just the tongue of his kidnappers? Could Ariel play with toys, or was childhood taken from him entirely?
Now we know they were killed. The precise details are still unclear, but does it make a difference? Their brief lives were extinguished in Gaza — victims of a massacre, of hate, of a war that has broken so many hearts and homes. The world mourns. The color orange, which was selected to represent the bright red hair of the Bibas children, has turned into an international symbol of shared sorrow. Israel and the world will wear orange in their memory, not only as a mark of bereavement but as a summons to humanity.

Four hostages who were killed while in Hamas captivity, Oded Lifshitz, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, will be returned to Israel as part of the ongoing hostage deal; the IDF is preparing for their transfer. The process will involve the handover of their bodies from the Red Cross to IDF troops and a military ceremony.

It also leaves Israelis wondering how Hamas will attempt to manipulate the narrative this time. 

Stage 1: Transfer of remains to the Red Cross

Under the agreement, the Red Cross will receive the hostages' remains, as it has in previous instances. It is currently unclear how Hamas will handle the transfer. Some expect them to stage a cynical release ceremony, and others expect them to hand over the bodies with zero fanfare.  

Ahead of the return of the bodies of the four slain hostages on Thursday, and four more next week, much focus has been on where and how they will be identified.

But aside from the forensics, there has been little discussion of the Jewish questions raised about the slain hostage bodies being returned, some of whom may have been killed a long time ago.  

Here we explore the answers to key questions, such as whether autopsies are permitted under Jewish law, when to sit the shiva mourning period and how to calculate a yahrzeit if the date of death is unknown and whether a body can be buried if it is not complete.

A new report by the medical division of the Hostage Families Forum revealed the severe distress faced by the families of deceased hostages, who struggle with psychological trauma, depression, anxiety, and a lack of institutional recognition. Many families are unable to return to their daily lives and work.

The report is based on systematic data collection through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted between December 2024 and January 2025. Seventeen family members of varying degrees of relation were interviewed with informed consent. Dr. Einat Yahne, a rehabilitation psychologist with the Hostage Families Forum Health Division, conducted the interviews.

The report also found that families experience physical and mental decline, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic symptoms that impair their ability to function. Many families are unable to return to their normal routines and work due to functional difficulties and sleep disorders.

Since Hamas's terror attack on October 7, in which 251 people were kidnapped to Gaza, 31 hostages have been declared deceased, while 36 were murdered during captivity.

Many families continue to face extreme uncertainty about the fate of 73 of their loved ones.

Edan Alexander, the Tenafly, New Jersey-born member of the Golani Brigade's 51st Battalion who was abducted the morning of October 7 while patrolling near the Gaza Strip, should be released in the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire agreement should Israel vote to continue negotiations. 

Hamas released a video of Edan on November 30 in which he speaks in both Hebrew and Arabic, saying he's been a prisoner of Hamas for over 420 days. 

On December 1, less than 24 hours after learning Edan was still alive, Adi Alexander told The Jerusaelm Post it had been over a year since the Alexander family received any sign of life from their son. 

On Wednesday, with looming uncertainty over negotiations resuming, Adi Alexander told the Post that his family have not received any proof of life since Hamas's late November video. 

Adi Alexander said he's heard nothing new from Washington since his weekend call with Middle East Steve Witkoff prior to Witkoff's departure to Riyadh for talks between Russia and Ukraine. 

The Trump administration stopped all funding for the Palestinian Authority's security forces as part of recent aid cuts, US and Palestinian officials told the Washington Post on Wednesday.

The freeze comes as the West Bank has seen a significant uptick in terror activity. The Jerusalem Post previously reported that the IDF was handling levels of terror in the West Bank similar to those around the time of the Second Intifada. 

Trump's first administration had stopped all direct aid to the Palestinian Authority except for funding for training and reform for the security forces. The PA's security forces are trained through the Jerusalem-based Office of the Security Coordinator, which the US and various countries run. 

Derrick Van Orden, a retired US Navy SEAL businessman, actor, and now a US congressman representing Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district, was the first American government official not stationed in Israel to visit the country following the October 7 attacks.

Van Orden, who served in the Navy for 26 years and retired as a Senior Chief, has had five combat deployments and remains deeply engaged in global security matters. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post in Jerusalem on Wednesday during a 48-hour visit to Israel, he discussed his personal oath to the Jewish people, his meetings with injured soldiers, Israeli ministers, and security officials, and the broader political implications of US-Israel relations.