Hamas murdered youngest hostages Ariel and Kfir Bibas, says Israel, mother's body missing

Israel on Friday (Feb 21) said that one of the four bodies returned from Gaza is not that of hostage Shiri Bibas, as claimed by Hamas while accusing Palestinian militants of killing her two young sons — the youngest hostages taken on Oct 7— in captivity.

The Israeli military confirmed that it had identified the remains of toddler Ariel and infant Kfir Bibas, the two sons of Shiri Bibas, after Hamas handed over their bodies as part of a hostage-prisoner swap. However, it alleged that the young children were "brutally murdered" by the "terrorists" while in captivity.

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Fourth body has no match

As per the Israeli military, the remains of Kfir Bibas who was just 10 months old at the time of his death, his brother Ariel who was four years old, and Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old veteran journalist, have been identified. However, the fourth body does not belong to Shiri Bibas, and is an "anonymous, unidentified body".

"During the diagnostic process, it was found that the other body handed over does not belong to Shiri Bibas and does not match any other kidnapped individuals," Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram.

"We demand Hamas return Shiri Bibas along with all the abductees," he added.

Israel accuses Hamas of murdering the Bibas children

Contradicting Hamas’s claim that the boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike, Israel said intelligence assessments indicated that their captors murdered them in November 2023.

"According to the assessment of the relevant authorities and based on available intelligence and diagnostic indicators, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally killed in captivity in November 2023 by Palestinian terrorists," Adraee said.

Hamas handed over the remains of what it claimed were Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, along with the body of Oded Lifshitz, an Israeli journalist and advocate for Palestinian rights. This marked the first return of Israeli bodies under the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza.

The bodies were paraded before crowds in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, with propaganda posters before being transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Armed Hamas fighters carried out the handover.

The bodies were examined and draped in Israeli flags before being transported back to Israel, where they were met by mourners lining the convoy’s route.

Thousands, including masked and armed fighters, gathered at the ceremony, filming and cheering. The UN's human rights chief, Volker Türk, has condemned the public display, stating that "under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families".

The Israeli military said the whereabouts of Shiri Bibas remain unknown.

"This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)