Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to retaliate on Friday for what he called a” violent and destructive infraction” of the peace agreement after it was discovered that a body belonging to Hamas ‘ release was not the mother of two young males, as the insurgents had promised. The delicate ceasefire’s coming has been in doubt as a result of the incident. As part of the weak ceasefire that has been in place for 15 weeks, six more life hostages are scheduled to be released on Saturday.
As part of the bargain, Hamas extremists turned over four bodies on Thursday. They were supposed to be those of Shiri Bibas and her two younger sons, Kfir and Ariel, and Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was kidnapped during the Hamas strike that on October 7, 2023, which were both supposed to be his.
The two guys ‘ and Lifshitz’s remains were positively identified, according to Israeli government, but Shiri Bibas’s and any other Israeli captive held in Gaza were not identified.
” We may work with dedication to provide Shiri residence together with all of our victims, both living and dead, and to demand that Hamas pay the full price for this abhorrent and malignant violation of the deal,” Netanyahu said. The nation’s heart will forever hold the sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge”.
Netanyahu claimed that a woman from Gaza was the fourth body. Hassan has not responded to Israel’s announcement regarding the remains ‘ identities.
A shocking twist in the saga surrounding the Bibas family, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, was the revelation of the body’s identity.
In exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, Hamas has been releasing living hostages during the ceasefire, which first started in January. The group has for the first time returned the remains of hostages since Thursday’s release.
The fourth body released by Hamas was an “anonymous, unidentified body,” according to the Israeli army on Thursday. According to the ceasefire agreement, the Bibas family was informed, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and father of the two boys, who had been abducted from his wife and children.
Hamas has claimed Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her sons were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel claimed that the two boys and Lifshitz were killed by their captors based on the results of testing.
US envoy Adam Boehler described the release of the wrong body as “horrific” and a” clear violation” of the ceasefire.
” If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation”, Boehler, who serves as the US envoy for hostages, told CNN.
The next scheduled hostage swap for prisoners, scheduled for Saturday, was undetermined in what way due to the incident. The first phase of the ceasefire will be completed by Hamas, who has stated that it will release four more bodies next week. Additionally, it’s not clear whether the truce will continue after the initial phase’s expiration in early March.
In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions struck three parked, empty buses in central Israel overnight.
There were no injuries and no claim of responsibility. However, the Israeli military said in response that it was strengthening its forces in the West Bank, increasing the risk of the conflict getting worse there. Since the ceasefire was in effect, Israel has launched a massive military offensive against the occupied territory.
Hamas will be left with about 60 hostages, half of whom are believed to be men, if the current phase of the ceasefire proceeds as planned, with the release of six hostages on Saturday and four more bodies next week, according to reports.
Without a long-lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal, Hamas has stated that it won’t release the captives who are still being held captive. Netanyahu, with the full backing of the Trump administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas ‘ military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.
The ceasefire has been cast into even greater doubt by Trump’s proposal to remove about 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so that the US can own and rebuild it, which has been welcomed by Netanyahu but that has been widely rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries.
If Hamas believes the war will resume, it might be reluctant to release more hostages.
Israel’s military offensive killed more than 48, 000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17, 000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Gaza’s vast areas were reduced to rubble as a result of the offensive, which also destroyed entire neighborhoods. At its height, the war displaced 90 per cent of Gaza’s population. Many people have returned to their homes to find nothing left and no way to rebuild.
