Netanyahu says body released by Hamas was that of Gazan woman, not hostage
The Israeli leader called the handover of the wrong remains a ‘cruel and malicious violation’ of the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a body that Hamas militants released during the handover of remains of Israeli hostages is that of a Gazan woman, and not that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young boys whose bodies were returned on Thursday.
The incident has thrown the future of the fragile ceasefire into question. Six more living hostages are scheduled to be released on Saturday as part of the agreement.
In a statement released on Friday, Mr Netanyahu criticised the handover of the wrong remains as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which has halted fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli leader vowed that Hamas would “pay the full price” for the action.
Hamas militants turned over four bodies on Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire deal, which has paused more than 15 months of war.
Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war on October 7 2023.
The remains of Shiri Bibas’ two young sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were positively identified, the Israeli Defence Forces said, but added the fourth body was not that of their mother, nor of any other hostage.
“We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge,” he added.
During the ceasefire, which began in January, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Thursday’s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.
The Israeli army said on Thursday that the fourth body released by Hamas was an “anonymous, unidentified body”. It said the Bibas family had been notified, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and father of the two boys, who had been taken captive separately from his wife and children and was released early this month as part of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas has claimed Mr Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her sons were killed in Israeli air strikes. But Israel said the testing had found the two boys and Mr Lifshitz were killed by their captors.
US envoy Adam Boehler described the release of the wrong body as “horrific” and a “clear violation” of the ceasefire.
“If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,” Mr Boehler, who serves as the US envoy for hostages, told CNN.
It was unclear how the incident might affect the next scheduled swap of hostages for prisoners, set for Saturday. Hamas has said it will also release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase of the ceasefire.
It is also unclear whether the truce will be extended beyond the end of the current phase, which expires in early March.
In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions struck three parked, empty buses in central Israel overnight.
There were no injuries and no claim of responsibility. But the Israeli military said in response it was beefing up its forces in the West Bank, raising the likelihood of further escalation in the area.
Israel has been carrying out a broad military offensive in the occupied territory since the ceasefire took effect.
If the current phase of the ceasefire goes according to plan with the release of six hostages on Saturday and four more bodies next week, Hamas will be left with about 60 hostages, about half – all men – believed to still be alive.
Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Mr Netanyahu, with the full backing of the US administration, says he is committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.
Trump’s proposal to remove about two million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Mr Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.
Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume.
