Middle East latest: Israel says child hostages identified but other released body not their mother
Middle East latest: Israel says child hostages identified but other released body not their mother
Hamas on Thursday released four bodies they said were Israeli hostages, including two young children who were long feared dead and have symbolized the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. But Israel’s military later said one of the bodies released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother.
Hamas militants had turned over the bodies under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli 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.
The remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the families were notified, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. But the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas, nor any other hostage, the IDF said.
The first phase of the ceasefire ends in early March, however Israel and Hamas have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase. Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory.
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Here’s the latest:
UN secretary-general condemns Hamas over handover of bodies
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned Hamas for how it handed over the corpses of hostages on Thursday in the Gaza Strip to the Red Cross.
“Under international law, any handover of the remains of the deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” Guterres wrote on the social platform X.
Argentina declares 2 days of national mourning for Ariel and Kfir Bibas, both Argentine citizens
The Argentine government early Friday declared two days of national mourning in honor of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, both of whom hold Argentine citizenship, after the Israeli army confirmed their identities among the returned remains.
The statement from the office of Argentine President Javier Milei also expressed concern that Hamas had not returned the body of their mother, Shiri Bibas, and demanded the “immediate release” of all Israeli hostages remaining in Hamas captivity.
Argentina, it added, “is confident that (Hamas) will be reduced to ashes and will become nothing more than a horrid memory in the history of the world.”
Israel’s UN ambassador accuses Hamas of returning unidentified body as if it were ‘worthless shipment’
UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused Hamas of returning an unidentified body instead of the mother of two murdered boys, “as if it were a worthless shipment.”
“This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,” he said in a statement late Thursday.
“There are no words that can describe such an atrocity,” Danon said. “Hamas not only murdered Ariel and Kfir Bibas in cold blood – a 4-year-old boy and a 10-month-old baby – but continue to violate every basic moral value even after their death.”
Israel demands that the U.N. Security Council condemn “this heinous crime” and demands the immediate return of the mother, Shiri Bibas, to her family, he said.
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel, the Security Council has refused to condemn the militant group.
US official issues stark warning for Hamas after Israeli military says it released “anonymous” body
A top U.S. official issued a stark warning for Hamas after the Israeli military said the militant group released an “anonymous” body and not that of a slain Israeli hostage.
Speaking to CNN, Adam Boehler who serves as the United States Envoy for Hostages, called the Hamas decision to reportedly release the wrong body “horrific” and a “clear violation” of the ceasefire halting fighting in the Gaza Strip
“If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,” he said.
Two boys released by Hamas had been ‘brutally murdered,’ Israeli military says
The Israeli military said in a statement that the bodies of two boys released by Hamas, Ariel and Kfir, had been “brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023.” It said it based the assessment on intelligence and “forensic findings” made during their identification.
The boys’ bodies were among those of four Israeli hostages released on Thursday. They had been long feared dead and symbolized the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. But the Israeli military said another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother.
Hamas militants had turned over the bodies under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli 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.
Remains of two child hostages identified but another body not the boys’ mother
The remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother, the Israeli military said.
Hamas militants had turned over four bodies Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli 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.
The remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the families were notified, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. It said the boys were killed in captivity in November 2023.
But the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas, nor any other hostage, the military said.
“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” the Israeli military said in a statement early Friday. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”
3 buses explode in central Israel but it appears no one was harmed, authorities say
A series of explosions on three buses in a parking lot rattled central Israel on Thursday in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported.
Explosives were found on two other buses but did not detonate, police spokesman Asi Aharoni told Channel 13 TV. Israeli police said the five bombs were identical and equipped with timers.
Investigators in white coveralls searched for evidence inside the burned-out metal shells of the buses, which blew up in a parking lot in Bat Yam, a city outside Tel Aviv.
The city’s mayor, Tzvika Brot, said it was a miracle no one was hurt. The buses had been parked after finishing their routes, he said.
The head of the bus company said they immediately ordered all bus drivers to stop and conduct a “thorough inspection.” They resumed their routes once they were found to be safe, Ofir Karni said.
Police spokesman Haim Sargrof told Israeli TV the explosives used Thursday matched explosives used in the West Bank, but he declined to elaborate. Israel has been waging a broad military offensive in the West Bank against Palestinian militants since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on Jan. 19.
Argentina reacts as the Bibas family’s remains are returned
Shiri Bibas and her two kids held Argentine citizenship, and officials in the South American country expressed grief and horror after Hamas released their bodies.
“We are all in mourning, we are overcome with deep pain,” Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri said on X.
There was no immediate statement Thursday from libertarian President Javier Milei, who has reshaped his country’s foreign policy in line with Israel, expressed interest in converting to Judaism and designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack.
Argentina’s main Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which was targeted in a notorious 1994 bombing that killed 85 people, said the return of the hostages’ bodies “confronts us, once again, with unimaginable cruelty and the darkest and most devastating facet of terrorism.”
▶ Read more about the hostages freed by Hamas
A relative of the deceased hostages hopes they can symbolize peace
Romina Miasnik, the cousin of Shiri Bibas and who lives in Argentina, said she has been reliving the trauma of her family’s abduction for almost 17 months now.
Speaking to Radio Con Vos in Buenos Aires on Thursday, she appealed to listeners not to “normalize” violence.
Miasnik hopes her loved ones “can become a symbol of something new — of coexistence, of hatred no longer having a place … of being able to live peacefully wherever we are born.”
The Red Cross says Israeli hostages must be released with ‘dignity and privacy’
The Red Cross says the releases of Israeli hostages must show “utmost respect” for those who are alive or dead, and should be carried out “with dignity and privacy.”
The international humanitarian group issued the statement Thursday after Hamas’ latest public handover, in which four caskets were displayed in front of a large crowd in Gaza before being turned over to the Red Cross.
Since the ceasefire began, Israel and Hamas have waged a fierce battle of optics over the releases.
Israel says these ceremonies, in which hostages were forced to wave and speak in front of thousands and Red Cross vehicles were surrounded by crowds, are meant to humiliate and intimidate the hostages.
For the militants, it’s been a chance to show off their survival as a fighting force and ongoing control of Gaza after 15 months of war.
UN rights chief says it was ‘abhorrent’ for Gaza militants to parade hostages’ coffins
The U.N. human rights chief is denouncing the “abhorrent and cruel” parading of Israeli hostages’ bodies as they were released from Gaza.
Hamas militants displayed four black coffins on a stage amid the ruins of the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday surrounded by banners, including a large one depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. Thousands of people, including 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 parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law,” said Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, in a statement.
“Under international law,” he said, “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.”
▶ Watch the release of the hostages’ remains
Macron and British Embassy in Israel release somber messages after hostages’ bodies are returned
President Emmanuel Macron said France stands by the family of the hostages whose bodies were released from Gaza on Thursday.
“Faces of innocence and love… faces of eternal humanity that the barbarism of Hamas will never destroy,” Macron wrote on X, along with photos of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel, whose bodies were returned to Israel.
The British Embassy in Israel also expressed support for Israel. “For over 500 days we hoped for the safe return of all the hostages. This hope is broken, but we mustn’t give up on those still held hostage in Gaza,” it said on X.
After Trump’s Gaza proposal, Saudi Arabia will host a meeting of Arab countries
Saudi Arabia will host the region’s Arab countries on Friday, describing it as “an informal brotherly gathering” under the direction of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the leaders of the regional bloc, the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt and Jordan, have been invited. It said the gathering — ahead of an Arab League summit in Egypt on March 4 — will include discussion on possible “joint Arab action.”
President Donald Trump has suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the United States take “ownership” in redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
That has drawn sharp criticism from the Mideast Arab nations, which roundly back the Palestinians in having their own independent state, with Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of the long-pursued two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel’s military holds short funeral ceremony after receiving coffins from Hamas
The Israeli military held a short funeral ceremony on Thursday after receiving coffins from Hamas said to contain the remains of four hostages.
A military rabbi read a Kaddish prayer and chapters from the Book of Psalms, based on a request from the families. Troops fired ceremonial shots into the air.
Prior to the ceremony, the coffins were checked for explosives or dangerous substances.
After the prayers, the remains were transported to a laboratory in Israel where they will undergo DNA testing, which could take up to two days. Only then would there be an official confirmation of the deaths.
▶ Watch as Israelis line the route of a convoy carrying the bodies
Hamas begins handover of remains of 4 Israeli hostages
Hamas militants displayed four black coffins on a stage surrounded by militant banners ahead of the handover Thursday of hostages’ remains.
The coffins were then handed over to Red Cross vehicles at the scene to accept the bodies and return them to Israel.
The handover is part of a ceasefire that paused Israel’s 15-month military offensive in Gaza, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
▶ Read more about the ceasefire in Gaza.
By The Associated Press
