The body that Hamas claimed was that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young children kidnapped on October 7 and later murdered by Hamas, was either deliberately or accidentally misidentified when it was returned to Israel on Thursday.
Kfir Bibas, 10 months old when killed, and Ariel Bibas, age four, were identified by Israeli authorities, as was 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz. But the fourth body was not Shiri Bibas or any of the other hostages still being held by Hamas.
Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, called the switch of bodies an "unfortunate mistake."
"We confirm that it is not in our values or our interest to keep any bodies or not to abide by the covenants and agreements that we sign," he said in a statement.
Hamas said they would "investigate."
Related: BEYOND BARBARISM: Hamas Parades the Bodies of Dead Israeli Babies While Palestinians Celebrate
After Thursday's outrageous staged handover of the four Israeli bodies In the blasted city of Khan Younis and the supposed "mix-up" of the remains, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that Hamas would pay for this desecration.
"We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said in a video statement. He accused Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Bibas.
Hamas claims that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas were killed during an Israeli air strike. However, forensic analysis performed by Israeli experts tells a different story.
The children were murdered in cold blood.
Six living hostages are due for release on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to Hamas, and the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire is expected in the coming days.
"Hamas must return the hostages as agreed in the ceasefire- the living and the deceased," Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in a statement on social media platform X. "They have to bring Shiri back, and they have to release the 6 living hostages expected tomorrow,"
As the tension over the Gaza ceasefire rose, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify operations in another Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, after a number of explosions blew up buses standing empty in their depots near Tel Aviv.
No casualties were reported but the explosions were a reminder of the campaign of suicide attacks on public transport that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.
Could Hamas have possibly made an honest mistake? If the Israeli forensic experts are right about the family being butchered by Hamas, a mixup isn't possible. It's very likely that Hamas was looking to make a point about mixed-up body parts and civilian deaths.
"This is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is required by the agreement to return four dead hostages,” says the IDF. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home, along with all of our hostages.”
“We share the deep sorrow of the Bibas family at this difficult time and will continue to make every effort to return Shiri and all the hostages home as soon as possible,” says the IDF.
In a searing article in the Wall Street Journal, the leading pro-Western intellectual in Europe, Bernard-Henri Lévy, imagined the terror of the Bibas children.
One must imagine the life of Kfir and Ariel as hostages if, as is probable, they were torn from their mother’s arms. Imagine the life of a baby who spends most of his time in dark, damp tunnels. Imagine the life of a toddler, ripped from his family without understanding. Picture them playing, because children always play. Did they have stuffed animals or spent shell casings? Legos or guns to lick instead of honey-coated letters? Were they hungry? Thirsty? Did they scrape mud with their tiny nails or drink contaminated water? Did the captors change Kfir’s diapers, or did they let him sit in his own filth until his skin burned? Did they have talcum powder? Medicine for fevers? What did the masked jailers do when the boys cried, were scared of night noises, or asked the stars about their fate when they were briefly allowed outside? Did they hit them? Strike them with rifle butts? Did they amuse themselves by firing their Kalashnikovs into the air to frighten them further? Did Ariel become the guardian of his baby brother? Did they live out their brief lives together or separately? When Kfir spoke his first words, did they mock him, silence him, or pour the captors’ language into his mouth to erase his mother’s? I don’t know.
There will be no justice for the boys. No punishment equal to the crimes of Hamas can be imagined by living humans.
Perhaps Allah will be merciful because I doubt the Hebrew god will.