Hamas releases bodies of 4 hostages, including youngest

Benjamin Netanyahuprime Minister

Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel. A wrenching day, a day of grief. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, deceased. We embrace the families, and the heart of the entire nation is torn. My own heart is torn. So is yours. And all of the world's heart should be torn, because this demonstrates who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with — with such monsters,

Netanyahu said

We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages as in the current first phase,

senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told the news agency

Should we receive devastating news, it must come through the proper official channels after all identification procedures are completed,

it said in a statement late Wednesday