Jerusalem, Feb 21 : Israel has announced that the body of Oded Lifshitz, one of the oldest hostages in Gaza, had been identified after being released by Hamas, along with the bodies of a mother and her two sons.

Lifshitz, an 83-year-old retired journalist and peace activist, "was killed while being held captive by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday in a statement.

Chen Kugel, head of Israel's National Centre of Forensic Medicine, said Lifshitz was "murdered" in captivity in Gaza "more than a year ago," but did not elaborate on the cause of death. The Islamic Jihad had previously said he was killed in an Israeli strike, Xinhua news agency reported.

The remains of three other hostages -- presumably baby Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel, and their mother, Shiri Bibas -- are still undergoing identification, Kugel said.

The four bodies were handed over to the Red Cross in the first such transfer since a ceasefire took effect on January 19. Upon receiving them, Israeli forces ran the coffins through X-ray scanners out of concern that Hamas had booby-trapped them, Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported, citing a security official.

The military held a brief mourning ceremony in Gaza and soldiers fired ceremonial shots into the air. The bodies, wrapped in Israeli flags, were later transferred to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine.

News of the recovery sparked an outpouring of grief across Israel. People lined the route as the coffins left Gaza, waving Israeli flags and tying yellow ribbons -- symbols of the campaign to bring home the hostages.

Outside the forensic centre in southern Tel Aviv, mourners sang Israel's national anthem as police vehicles escorted the bodies.

In Hostage Square, near the military's headquarters in central Tel Aviv, crowds gathered to grieve, holding flags as images of the remaining captives were displayed on a large screen.

"Our family's healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned," the Lifshitz family said in a statement.

Israel did not release any Palestinian prisoners in return for the bodies, but videos online showed trucks carrying caravans and heavy machinery entering Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Hamas had accused Israel of blocking the entry of equipment needed to clear war debris, which the United Nations estimates at 50 million tonnes.

Hamas is expected to release six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds more Palestinians detained by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal.

The release of the remaining living hostages in Gaza is expected to take place during the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which still needs to be negotiated. Israel has said negotiations on that phase would begin "this week".

/IANS