{"id":834749,"date":"2025-03-17T13:12:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T18:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/17\/israel-identifies-remains-of-child-hostages-but-says-another-body-from-hamas-was-not-their-mother\/"},"modified":"2025-03-17T13:12:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T18:12:30","slug":"israel-identifies-remains-of-child-hostages-but-says-another-body-from-hamas-was-not-their-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/17\/israel-identifies-remains-of-child-hostages-but-says-another-body-from-hamas-was-not-their-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel identifies remains of child hostages but says another body from Hamas was not their mother"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) \u2014 The Israeli military said Friday it had positively identified the remains of two young hostages but another body released by Hamas under a ceasefire deal was not the boys\u2019 mother as the militant group had promised.<\/p>\n

The revelation was a shocking twist in the saga surrounding the Bibas family<\/a><\/span>, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and threw the future of the fragile ceasefire into question.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization,\u201d the army said in a statement.<\/p>\n

During the monthlong ceasefire, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Thursday\u2019s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.<\/p>\n

Early in the day, Hamas had turned over four bodies to the Red Cross. Israel quickly confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n

Hamas had said the other remains belonged to Shiri Bibas, and her two young boys, Ariel and Kfir. In an overnight announcement, the army said Israel\u2019s National Institute of Forensic Medicine had identified the boys, but the final set of remains did not belong to their mother. It said the remains did not match any other hostage either.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an anonymous, unidentified body,\u201d it said. \u201cWe demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said the army had notified their family, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri\u2019s husband and father of the two boys, who was released early this month as part of the ceasefire deal. <\/p>\n

Hamas has claimed all four of the hostages returned Thursday were killed in Israeli airstrikes. But Israel said the testing had found the two boys and Lifshitz were killed by their captors.<\/p>\n

Hamas did not immediately respond to Israel\u2019s announcement that the body was not of the boys\u2019 mother.<\/p>\n

A top U.S. official issued a stark warning for Hamas after the Israeli military said the militant group released an \u201canonymous\u201d body and not that of a slain Israeli hostage.<\/p>\n

Speaking to CNN, U.S. envoy Adam Boehler called the Hamas decision to reportedly release the wrong body \u201chorrific\u201d and a \u201cclear violation\u201d of the ceasefire halting fighting in the Gaza Strip<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were them, I\u2019d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,\u201d said Boehler, who serves as the U.S. envoy for hostages.<\/p>\n

It is now unclear whether the next scheduled swap, set for Saturday, will take place. It also is not clear whether the truce, which halted 15 months of fighting, will be extended when the current phase expires in early March.<\/p>\n

In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions Thursday on three parked buses rattled central Israel.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Outpouring of grief<\/h2>\n

The return of the remains Thursday had set off a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay their respects to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional nighttime vigil.<\/p>\n

Many people wiped away tears and softly sang the national anthem as the caravan wound through southern Israel \u2014 a stark contrast to the celebratory return of 24 living hostages<\/a><\/span> in recent weeks under the tenuous ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The handover was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity.<\/p>\n

Militants who handed over the bodies displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including one depicting Netanyahu as a vampire. On each coffin, a photo of one of the hostages was stapled to the side.<\/p>\n

Large numbers of masked and armed militants looked on as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces. The military later held a small funeral ceremony, at the request of the families, before transferring the bodies to the forensics lab for DNA testing.<\/p>\n

In Tel Aviv where the bodies were transported, a double rainbow unfolded across the sky just before sunset. Thousands of people gathered at the city\u2019s Hostage Square and recited traditional mourning prayers. Some held orange balloons, in honor of the red-headed Bibas boys, and the crowd swelled after sundown as musicians performed subdued ballads, matching the nation\u2019s grief. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts \u2014 the hearts of an entire nation \u2014 lie in tatters,\u201d Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. \u201cOn behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lifshitz\u2019s son, Yizhar, said the identification of his father had brought some closure to the family and would allow them to bury him on his kibbutz. <\/p>\n

Infant was the youngest taken hostage <\/h2>\n

Kfir Bibas, who was 9 months old at the time, was a red-headed infant with a toothless smile when militants stormed the family\u2019s home on Oct. 7, 2023. His brother, Ariel, was 4. Video from that day showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the boys as militants led them into Gaza.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was held separately before his release.<\/p>\n

Relatives in Israel had clung to hope, marking the boys\u2019 birthdays<\/a><\/span>. The Bibas family said it was waiting for official identification before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.<\/p>\n

A cousin of Shiri Bibas who lives in Buenos Aires, told the local Radio Con Vos station she has been reliving the trauma of the abduction. Romina Miasnik said she hoped her loved ones \u201ccan become a symbol of something new, of coexistence, of hatred no longer having a place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved, who was freed early in the war as an apparent humanitarian gesture.<\/p>\n

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages, including about 30 children<\/a><\/span>, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.<\/p>\n

Most of the hostages have been released or rescued, or their remains have been recovered. But Israel estimates 66 remain in captivity, roughly half of whom are still believed to be alive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if the ceasefire will last<\/h2>\n

Hamas is set to free six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners<\/a><\/span>, and says it will release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase. That will leave the militants with about 60 hostages, all men and about half believed to be dead. <\/p>\n

Hamas has said it won\u2019t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the full backing of the Trump administration<\/a><\/span>, says he\u2019s committed to destroying Hamas\u2019 military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s proposal<\/a><\/span> to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt.<\/p>\n

Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, which doesn\u2019t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n

The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza<\/a><\/span>, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza\u2019s population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and no way of rebuilding<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

___<\/h2>\n

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed.<\/p>\n

___<\/h2>\n

This story has been corrected to show that Yocheved Lifshitz was released early in the war, not during the ceasefire in November 2023.<\/p>\n

___<\/h2>\n

Follow AP\u2019s war coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/israel-hamas-war<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) \u2014 The Israeli military said Friday it had positively identified the remains of two young hostages but another body released by Hamas under a ceasefire deal was not the boys\u2019 mother as the militant group had promised. The revelation was a shocking twist in the saga surrounding the Bibas family <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":834750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22744,372],"tags":[10746,8669],"class_list":{"0":"post-834749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-identifies","8":"category-israel","9":"tag-identifies","10":"tag-israel"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}