The Israeli military has said that one of the bodies 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 on Friday.
“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obliged under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” it said in a statement, demanding the return of Shiri and all hostages.
The family of hostage Oded Lifshitz said in a statement that his body had been formally identified.
There was no immediate reaction from Hamas.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 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 attack in 2023.
In Tel Aviv, people gathered, some weeping, in a public square opposite Israel’s defence headquarters that has come to be known as Hostages Square.
“Agony. Pain. There are no words. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” President Isaac Herzog said.
Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to receive the bodies of the four hostages who had been held in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on 7 October, 2023. Source: EPA / EPA
In a recorded address released after the remains of the hostages were handed over, Netanyahu vowed to eliminate Hamas, saying “the four coffins” obliged Israel to ensure “more than ever” that there was no repeat of the October 7 attack.
“Our loved ones’ blood is shouting at us from the soil and is obliging us to settle the score with the despicable murderers, and we will,” he said.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned “the parading of bodies and displaying of the coffins of the deceased hostages in the manner seen this morning, which is abhorrent and appalling”, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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