THE Palestinian armed group Hamas has said it was investigating Israel’s claim that one of the bodies it handed over to Israel on Thursday as part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal was not that of female captive Shiri Bibas.
In a statement released on Friday, Hamas said there might have been “the possibility of an error or overlap in the bodies” as it promised to “clearly” announce the findings of its probe. The group added the mix-up may have been the result of Israeli forces bombing “the place where the family was with other Palestinians”.
“We have received the occupation’s allegations and claims from the mediator brothers, and we will examine these claims with complete seriousness, and we will announce the results clearly,” the statement said.
The response came after the Israeli army said the remains of the two returned child captives, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, had been identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel Police. However, it said a third body was not that of their 32-year-old mother, as Hamas had claimed, or any other captive.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then accused Hamas of committing a “cruel and evil” violation of the ceasefire deal, which has brought a weeks-long pause in 15 months of fighting and the gradual release of both Palestinian and Israeli captives.
“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas had handed over the four bodies, which also included the remains of 83-year-old captive Oded Lifshitz, in the final days of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
As part of that phase, six living captives were also set to be released by Hamas on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the Palestinian group has said.
Hamas identified those to be released from captivity in Gaza as Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengisto.
Hamas and Israel have offered opposing accounts of how the Bibas family and Lifshitz were killed, putting further stress on the delicate deal.
The Israeli military said Friday that intelligence assessments and forensic analysis of the bodies of the Bibas children indicated that they were deliberately killed by their captors. They did not provide further details on the claim.
