Hamas militants have returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages, among them, Shiri Bibas and her young children, Kfir and Ariel.
Crowds of people, including a sizeable contingent of masked and armed fighters from Hamas and other factions, gathered at the handover site outside the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Large banners were erected, including one showing an image of coffins draped in Israeli flags.
The bodies of the hostages were handed over to the Red Cross which took them to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The remains are then to be transported to a forensic institute to be formally identified.
Public broadcaster Kan reported that the National Forensic Medicine Institute in Tel Aviv has mobilised 10 doctors to speed up the identification process.
Handover not broadcast by Israeli media
Israeli news channels did not broadcast the footage of the handover of the remains of four hostages on the outskirts of Khan Younis out of respect for the dead.
There were also no plans to show live proceedings from Khan Younis in what has become known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
Instead, a large screen showed family videos of the Bibas family along with a ticking clock counting down the days, hours and seconds since they were abducted.
Previously crowds of Israelis have gathered at the site to witness the return of hostages.
Following the handover, Israelis carrying flags began lining the routes along which the bodies of the hostages were to be transported.
