‘Violation of utmost severity’: Israel says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage

Tel Aviv: The Israeli military said on Friday that one of the bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any of the hostages held in Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating an already shaking ceasefire.

Two of the bodies were identified as infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, while a third body that was supposed to be their mother, Shiri, was found not to match with any hostage and remained unidentified, the military said.

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obliged under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” the military said, in a statement, demanding the return of Shiri and all hostages.

Posters of Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, who were taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023.Credit: AP

The family of hostage Oded Lifshitz said in a statement that his body had been formally identified.

There was no immediate reaction from Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier vowed revenge on Hamas after the group released the remains of what it said were four hostages, including that of Kfir and Ariel, the youngest of those abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack.

Four black coffins were handed to the Red Cross in a carefully orchestrated public display, with dozens of armed Hamas militants and crowds of Palestinians gathering to watch, creating a spectacle which was condemned by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Israelis lined the road in the rain near the Gaza border to pay their respects as the convoy carrying the coffins drove by.