On Friday, Hamas announced that it was investigating a potential mistake in the identification of human remains handed over to Israel under a ceasefire agreement. This came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a threat of retaliation for the failure to return the body of hostage Shiri Bibas.
According to the ceasefire deal, Hamas was supposed to return the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel, on Thursday, along with the remains of a fourth hostage. This agreement had put a halt to fighting in Gaza since the previous month. While four bodies were delivered and the identities of the Bibas boys and another hostage, Oded Lifshitz, were confirmed, Israeli experts determined that the fourth body was that of an unidentified woman, not Bibas. She had been abducted along with her sons and husband, Yarden, during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, acknowledged that errors could happen, particularly given that Israeli bombings had mingled the bodies of Israeli hostages with those of Palestinians, many of whom were still buried under rubble. He emphasized that Hamas had no interest in keeping bodies or violating agreements.
In response to the mishap, Hamas confirmed that it would investigate the issue and release the findings. The public handover of the four coffins on Thursday and the failure to return Shiri Bibas' body provoked outrage in Israel and led to Netanyahu threatening retaliation.
Netanyahu vowed in a video statement to bring Shiri Bibas home along with all hostages and ensure Hamas paid for violating the agreement. He accused Hamas of cynically placing a Gaza woman's body in the coffin instead of Bibas.
Hamas stated in November 2023 that the Bibas children and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, placed the responsibility for their deaths on Netanyahu. Conversely, Israeli military intelligence and forensic analysis suggested that the Bibas children were killed by their captors. Chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed the militants killed the boys "with their bare hands."
While Netanyahu did not detail possible Israeli responses, the incident highlighted the ceasefire agreement's fragility, which was brokered with U.S. support and aid from Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Six living hostages were scheduled for release on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire expected soon. Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani demanded that Hamas return all hostages, living and deceased, according to the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu's office confirmed the names of the six hostages slated for release, expected at 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
In response to rising tensions over the Gaza ceasefire, Netanyahu ordered intensified military operations in the occupied West Bank after a series of explosions destroyed buses in depots near Tel Aviv. Though there were no casualties, the explosions were reminiscent of past suicide attacks during the Second Intifada.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Hamas threatened to delay the release of hostages over Israel's alleged refusal to allow housing materials and aid into Gaza, a claim Israel denied.
Many, including 75-year-old Ilana Caspi, expressed their anguish over the situation, calling it a cruel blow to their grief. The Red Cross criticized the public nature of the body handover, deeming it undignified. A group representing hostage families also expressed their devastation but urged the continuation of the ceasefire to bring back the remaining 70 hostages in Gaza.
Despite the outrage over Shiri Bibas, there was no indication that Israel would withdraw from talks on a second phase of the ceasefire. Israel Hayom reported that Israeli negotiators might seek to extend the 42-day ceasefire to delay moving to discussions on more complex issues, such as ending the war and the future of Hamas in Gaza.