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Hamas Turns Handover of Dead Hostages into a Spectacle
(Wall Street Journal) Feliz Solomon - Hamas displayed coffins that it said held the bodies of four Israeli hostages before a crowd of militants while handing them over to Israel on Thursday, in a spectacle that included taunts and anti-Israel slogans. The coffins were placed on a stage before cheering spectators and cameras that broadcast the scenes on Arab television channels. Israeli broadcasters didn't air the images. The remains of all four hostages will be examined at a forensic lab in Tel Aviv to confirm their identities. In exchange for the bodies, Israel will release a group of Palestinian prisoners. Behind the stage in Khan Yunis, a banner showed Netanyahu likened to a vampire, with blood dripping down his chin. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "This demonstrates who we are dealing with, that we are dealing with such monsters. We are grieving, we are in pain, but we are also determined to ensure that such a thing never happens again." Amid the crowds were some Palestinians recently released by Israel in the ceasefire deal who were supposed to be exiled from Gaza, including Mohammed Abu Warda, who planned a 1996 bus bombing that killed more than 40 Israelis.