WATCH: Funeral of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, killed in Hamas captivity

“We have begun the funeral procession accompanied by masses of Israelis. We see and hear you, and are moved and strengthened by you,” the Bibas family said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the father of Kfir and Ariel, “apologize[d] for not being able to come down and personally hug each and every one of you.

“We long for the day when we can once again unite in moments of joy rather than sorrow,” added the statement.

“The funeral ceremony itself will only be for members of the family and close friends,” said Yarden on Sunday. Yarden was also taken captive on Oct. 7, and was released on Feb. 1 as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

“Nonetheless, it is important for us to make it possible for whoever wishes to pay their respects and be a part of this moment to do so. Therefore, the route of the funeral procession will be published in order to enable anyone” to pay their respects on the day of the funeral, he said.

The bodies are being driven from Rishon Lezion to the Tekuma Region near the Gaza Strip, where Kibbutz Nir Oz is situated. The public has been urged to converge at various stations along the route in the early morning hours of Wednesday until Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, where the procession was expected to arrive at around 9:15 a.m. Thousands were expected to show up, according to Ma’ariv.

The Knesset was illuminated in orange on Tuesday night in remembrance of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.

On Wednesday morning, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana commenced the day’s plenum session with a moment of silence honoring the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz and all those who lost their lives on Oct. 7 and in the subsequent war.

To countless Israelis and others, the Bibas family personified the plight of the 251 hostages that Hamas abducted on Oct. 7, and the brutality of its terrorists. Hamas claimed the mother and her children were killed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip, but forensic evidence has refuted that claim.

“The heart of the nation is shattered by the abduction and brutal murder of Shiri and her children—Ariel and Kfir, may their memory be a blessing,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday after Hamas returned Shiri’s body.

Hamas was to have returned her remains on Thursday together with those of her children, but DNA testing found that the body returned was not hers. The terrorist group returned Shiri’s body on Saturday.

“The warm embrace, the love and the strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world strengthen us and accompany us during these moments of crisis,” added Yaden Bibas in his statement. “We sense the open hearts, the enormous embrace, your pain alongside our pain—which we don’t take for granted.”