A tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been strained by outrage over Hamas’s alleged transfer of an unknown body to Israel in the place of Shiri Bibas, the Israeli mother who was kidnapped along with her two young children during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Still, the office of Israel’s prime minister said in a statement Friday that Israel has received the list of the hostages due to be released Saturday, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, and notified the families.
That statement comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed for Hamas to pay the “full price” for sending the wrong body, in a statement in Hebrew. In English, Netanyahu said he will not rest “until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice.”
Hamas claimed an “error or mix up in the bodies,” in a statement Friday and vowed “full commitment to all our obligations” in the ceasefire.
“We have received the occupation's [Israel's] allegations and claims from the mediators, and we will examine them with complete seriousness, and we will clearly announce the results,” added the group, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Israel and European Union.
Hamas transferred four dead bodies to Israel on Thursday, including those of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were 10 months and 4 years old, respectively, at the time of their death. Yarden Bibas, their father, was released from Hamas captivity Feb. 1. He had no knowledge of his wife and children's whereabouts after being kidnapped from their home.
The Israeli military said in a statement that Kfir and Ariel were “brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” contradicting Hamas's claims that the boys and their mother were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. In a separate statement, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Hamas used their “bare hands” to kill the boys.
The body of Oded Lifshitz, 83, was also returned to Israel. Lifshitz was kidnapped from his home in the kibbutz Nir Oz. The Israeli military said Lifshitz was killed in captivity by Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian terrorist group operating in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas’s return of the Bibas children, but not the mother, has stirred deep wounds in Israeli society. Despite broad support for the war generally, there is a split among Israelis over how much to prioritize hostage releases. Some argue a more permanent ceasefire offers the best chance to secure the lives of hostages Hamas kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, while others support continuing the war, even if it means sacrificing the lives of Israeli hostages.
Ofri Bibas Levy, sister-in-law to Shiri Bibas, said in a statement the family’s main priority was the return of her actual body, and called on President Trump to aide in the effort.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we did not receive an apology from you in this painful moment. For Ariel and Kfir's sake, and for Yarden's sake, we are not seeking revenge right now. We are asking for Shiri,” she said.
“Their cruelty only emphasizes the urgent need to bring Shiri back to us, save the lives of the living hostages, and return all the fallen for burial. President Trump, I am asking you, please help Israel and our family complete this important mission.”
Trump has increasingly criticized the terms of the ceasefire deal, mediated by the previous Biden administration, with some cooperation from his own Middle East envoy. The president has called for Hamas to release all the hostages, rather than the phased transfers that have occurred since Jan 19, when the ceasefire was first implemented. As part of the terms of the deal, Israel is also releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
But Trump has largely supported the ceasefire so far, and his special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, said he is engaging in Phase 2 of talks between Israel and Hamas, which are focused on reaching a lasting end to the war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Hamas “can’t be allowed to reconstitute” in the Gaza Strip and said Trump’s plan for the U.S. to take over Gaza should spur detractors. He suggested Gulf and Arab states come up with their own proposals, in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge on Thursday.
“I think the fundamental challenge in any plan is what do you — who is going to govern Gaza, what organization? Because it can’t be Hamas. And how are you going to get rid of them? Because ultimately, someone is going to have to go in and get rid of Hamas,” Rubio said.