In return, Israel is expected to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in its jails in the latest stage of an exchange that has largely held.
The Bibas family has been an emblem of the trauma suffered by Israel on that day. The misidentification of the remains of Shiri Bibas, as well as the staged handover of their coffins by Hamas outraged Israelis. Her husband Yarden, seized and helped separately from his family, was freed on February 1.
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The Israeli military said intelligence assessments and forensic analysis of the bodies of 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel showed both had been killed deliberately by their captors.
Israel’s Army Radio, citing the forensic conclusions, said Bibas was likely slain with her children. “Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest,” her family said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to make Hamas “pay the full price” for failing to return the body but he refrained from walking away from the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on January 19.
Hamas, which has itself accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by blocking vital aid supplies into Gaza, nonetheless formally informed Israel of the names of the hostages to be released on Saturday in a sign the handover would go ahead.
A man places a candle in a memorial for deceased hostages Shiri Bibas, her two children, Ariel and Kfir and Oded Lifshitz.Credit: AP
The ceasefire has brought a pause in the fighting, but prospects of a definitive end to the war remain unclear. Hamas, which killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during its attack on Israel, has been at pains to demonstrate that it remains in control in Gaza despite heavy losses in the war.
The Israeli campaign killed at least 48,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble, leaving some hundreds of thousands in makeshift shelters and dependent on aid trucks.
Both sides have said they intend to start talks on a second stage, which mediators say aim to agree the return of around 60 remaining hostages, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
But hopes of a deal have been clouded by disagreements over the future of Gaza, that have been deepened by shock across the region over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to clear the enclave of Palestinians and develop it as a Riviera-style resort under US control.
Reuters
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