Hamas

The findings could pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a widely demanded inquiry to examine the political decision-making that preceded the attack.

An Israeli minister said Israel was in a stronger position to negotiate now than on the eve of the ceasefire because it has full backing from the Trump administration.

The four are expected to be the final Israeli hostages to be released as part of the ceasefire’s first phase, with talks on a second phase yet to begin.

Shiri Bibas was 32 and her sons, Ariel and Kfir, were 4 years old and just shy of 9 months old when they were abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.

Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime in connection with the October 2023 attack. Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, was killed.

The release was to be part of the final prisoner-hostage exchange of the deal’s first phase, and would have been the largest group of Palestinians freed so far.

Israeli officials were furious after Hamas returned what it said was the mother’s body on Thursday, but then turned out to not be her.

The bodies of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the two youngest captives seized in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, were confirmed to be among those released as part of a ceasefire deal.

Video released by the Israel Defense Forces of the reunion shows Sagui Dekel-Chen becoming emotional after he learned the name of the baby he never met. 

Among the bodies handed over by the Palestinian militant group were those of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, two of the youngest captives seized in its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.