Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing.

Today is Thursday, February 20th, day 503 of the war.

Amanda Borssel, Dan, here with our editor, David Horvitz, on this very sad day for Israel.

Hi, David.

Thanks for joining me in our Jerusalem office.

This morning in a stage ceremony in Gaza, Hamas handed over four black coffins to the

International Red Cross, labeled with photos of those purportedly killed inside. The four were named

by the terrace as Shiri Bibas, Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lefschitz,

who were all kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz near Oz on October 7, 2023.

The bodies of the four slain hostages have crossed the border from the Gaza Strip back into Israel,

503 days since they were abducted alive.

We'll hear about the two ceremonies conducted this morning,

as well as the mood of the country on this terrible day.

All this and much, much more when we're back.

We the Holocaust survivors are a rapidly diminishing group.

We are in the last moments of being able to share with our young people our first-hand

testimonies. Time is rapidly running out.

Each year sees smaller numbers of survivors able to accompany students on the March of the Living.

Marching with students and survivors from many countries in those terrible places allows our students to learn and understand

through stories and eyewitness accounts about our resilience, our strength, and our determination.

This Yomashoa, the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day, many survivors like Ava want to march

at the International March of the Living in Auschwitz. They need your help. To sponsor a survivor on the March of the Living, go to

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