Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "enraged by the monsters of Hamas" and vowed to "liquidate" Palestinian militants, AFP reported.

"We are all enraged by the monsters of Hamas," Netanyahu said in a video address, adding, "We will return all our hostages, we will destroy the murderers, we will liquidate Hamas and together - with God's help - we will secure our future."

Netanyahu's comments came hours after Hamas staged a ceremony in Gaza to transfer the bodies of four hostages believed to be members of the Bibas family - Shiri Bibas and her young sons Kfir and Ariel - and veteran peace activist Oded Lifshitz.

The ceremony, in which Hamas fighters carried the coffins onto a stage, took place in a former cemetery in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

The bodies were then handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which handed them over to Israeli forces. The remains were then taken to Israel's main forensic centre for identification.

In his statement, Netanyahu said that "the blood of our loved ones cries out to us from the ground," and quoting the Torah, said that this "obligates us to come to deal with these vile murderers - and we will deal with them."

"Our hearts are broken, but our spirits are not," he said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz expressed a similar view in X.

"The heart of the entire nation mourns today. Hamas kidnapped, Hamas killed, Hamas will be destroyed. We will avenge our enemies and secure our future," Katz wrote.

The bodies were handed over as part of the first stage of the ceasefire that went into effect on January 19. So far, militants have released 19 live Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.

Another six live hostages are due to be released on 22 February, and four more bodies will be handed over next week.

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The UN human rights group also condemned the way Hamas handed over the bodies, calling it "abhorrent and cruel."

"Exposing the bodies in the manner we saw this morning is abhorrent and cruel and is contrary to international law," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said. | BGNES