Israel says forensics show Bibas children killed by captors

Shiri Bibas was kidnapped with her two children during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023

Israel has said Israeli children Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were taken hostage on 7 October 2023, were "deliberately" killed by their captors in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said "forensic findings", which have not been seen by the BBC, suggested the boys had been killed with "bare hands".

He said evidence had been shared with Israel's "partners around the world so they can verify it".

Hamas has said the children and their mother were killed by Israeli bombing, without providing evidence.

The bodies of the two boys were returned to Israel on Thursday, alongside the body of another hostage, Oded Lifschitz. Hamas said a fourth body handed over was that of the boys' mother, Shiri Bibas - but Israel said forensic testing showed it was not her.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged Hamas "put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin" instead of the body of Shiri Bibas.

The IDF posted on X that "during the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body."

"This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages."

A Hamas spokesman, Ismail al-Thawabta, said on X on Friday that Shiri's remains seemed to have been mixed up with other bodies under the rubble of a structure after an Israeli air strike.

The group told Reuters news agency they would investigate what had led to the wrong remains being sent to Israel.

Israel demanded that Hamas return Shiri along with the other remaining hostages.

"Whether she is alive or not, they need to bring back Shiri Bibas," IDF international spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

Netanyahu said "we will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement".

In a statement, Hamas said it affirmed its "seriousness and full commitment to all our obligations" and had no interest in "non-compliance".

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

They have become a symbol for many in Israel and the news that their bodies would be returned to Israel was met with an outpouring of grief.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was "horrified and devastated" that Shiri had not been returned, "despite the agreement and our desperate hopes".

The children's father Yarden Bibas, 34, was released by Hamas on 1 February.

Israel has confirmed that the fourth body returned on Thursday was that of veteran peace activist, Oded Lifschitz.

The release of hostages' bodies was agreed as part of the ceasefire deal which came into effect on 19 January, and Israel has confirmed it expects eight bodies will be handed over.

The two sides agreed to exchange 33 hostages for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners by the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire.

Talks on progressing to the next phase of the deal - under which the remaining living hostages would be released and the war would end permanently - were due to start earlier this month, but have not yet begun.

Twenty-eight hostages and more than 1,000 prisoners have so far been exchanged.

Sixty-six hostages taken on 7 October are still being held in Gaza. Three other hostages, taken more than a decade ago, are also being held. About half of all the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

About 1,200 people - mostly civilians - were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians - mainly civilians - according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Also on Thursday, three buses exploded in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, in what Israeli police said is a suspected terror attack.

Devices in two other buses failed to explode, they said. No casualties were reported.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced he had ordered the IDF to carry out an "intensive operation against centers of terrorism" in the West Bank.