https://mothership.sg/2025/02/hamas-dead-hostages-children/

Hamas releases bodies of 4 dead hostages, including 2 children aged 4 years old & 9 months old

Hamas also blamed Israel for causing the deaths of the hostages.

Matthias Ang

February 21, 2025, 12:07 PM

Hamas has handed over the bodies of four dead hostages, including two children.

Bodies released in ceremonial parade depicting Israel's Prime Minister as a vampire

They were released in a ceremony where the bodies were paraded in black coffins by armed fighters on a stage that had a poster of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, depicted as a vampire with teeth and blood in his mouth, Aljazeera reported.

The coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to the Israeli military, which held a small funeral ceremony at the request of the families, AP News reported.

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The two children are Ariel Bibas, aged four years old and Kfir Bibas, aged nine months old.

They were the youngest hostages held in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

The body of the boys' mother, Shiri Bibas, was also said to be part of the handover.

The boys' father, Yarden Bibas, was released earlier on Feb. 1, 2025 and has been pleading for information about his family since then.

The fourth body released is that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83-year-old at the time of his abduction on Oct. 7, 2023.

Handover ceremony slammed by Israel, UN

The handover ceremony enraged Israel, with Netanyahu denouncing Hamas as "monsters".

The United Nations (UN) also slammed the handover ceremony, with UN rights chief Volker Turk saying:

"Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families."

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which facilitates the exchange of prisoners and hostages between Israel and Hamas, also called for the release of deceased captives to be carried out with "the utmost respect", according to Al Jazeera.

Israeli military accuses Hamas of releasing a substitute body in place of the boys' mother

Following the release of the bodies and subsequent forensic tests, the Israeli military said one of the bodies is not that of the boys' mother, AP News further reported.

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The military has also accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.

They said:

"This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages."

Hamas did not respond immediately to the announcement.

Hamas blames Israel for killing hostages, Israel says they were murdered in captivity

According to Hamas, all four of the hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

The militant group reiterated their stance during the handover ceremony with a sign that blamed Netanyahu and "missile from Zionist warplanes", the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said the two children and Lifshitz "were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity".

Six more live hostages, four more bodies set to be released

CBS News reported that Hamas is set to release six more hostages on Feb. 22, Saturday, in exchange for a few hundred Palestinian prisoners, as well as four more bodies next week.

According to AP News, this will mark the end of the first phase of the ceasefire and leave the militant group with 60 hostages, all of whom are men.

Half of these remaining 60 hostages are also believed to be dead.

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It is unclear if the ceasefire will last, in light of Hamas saying they will not release the remaining hostages without a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and Netanyahu saying that he is committed to destroying the group's military and governing capacities, and returning all of the hostages.

In addition, Trump's proposal for the removal of the Palestinians from Gaza so that the U.S. can own and rebuild it has also thrown the status of the ceasefire into doubt.

Top image via The Times and The Sunday Times/YouTube