Israel says Hamas breached ceasefire after returning wrong body in hostage swap

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement after forensic testing revealed that one of four bodies returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of hostage Shiri Bibas, but rather an unidentified Palestinian woman.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the identities of three bodies as Bibas’s sons Ariel and Kfir, aged five and two, and peace activist Oded Lifshitz. Intelligence and forensic evidence indicated the children “were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023”, the military said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas “put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin” instead of returning Shiri Bibas as agreed.

“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”, Netanyahu said.

Hamas, which had previously claimed the Bibas family died in an Israeli airstrike in November, has responded today, saying it would “examine these allegations very seriously”.

Hamas official Ismail al-Thawabteh claimed Bibas’s body “was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble”.

The Bibas family became a symbol of the October 7 attack after mother Shiri, 32, and her sons were kidnapped. The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, 34, was released on February 1.

The body swap was part of a ceasefire deal that took effect on January 19, under which Israel expects to receive eight bodies. The agreement includes exchanging 33 hostages for approximately 1,900 prisoners within the first six weeks.

Twenty-eight hostages and more than 1,000 prisoners have been exchanged so far. Sixty-six hostages from the October 7 attack remain in Gaza, along with three others taken over a decade ago. About half are believed to be alive.

Separately, Israeli police reported three bus explosions in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, in a suspected terror attack. No casualties were reported, and two additional devices failed to detonate.

Netanyahu ordered an “intensive operation against centres of terrorism” in the West Bank in response.

The Hamas attacks on October 7 killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians, primarily civilians, according to Hamas-run health ministry figures.