The Palestinian group Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross the bodies of two Israeli children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, their mother Shiri and pensioner Oded Lifshitz. All four were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023.
Red Cross representatives received the bodies of four Israeli hostages
Red Cross representatives will hand over the remains to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The military will hold a memorial ceremony in Gaza led by a rabbi and then transport the bodies to the Abu Kabir National Centre for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, The Jerusalem Post reported. Identification procedures will take up to 48 hours, according to the Times of Israel.
On February 1, Hamas released from captivity the only surviving member of the Bibas family, the boys’ father Yardena. Back in November 2023, the Palestinian group published a video in which a man is told that his entire family was killed in an airstrike. Israeli authorities have not confirmed this information; the IDF has promised to determine the Bibas’ cause of death.
At the time of his abduction, Kfir – the youngest of all the Hamas hostages – was only nine months old, while his brother Ariel was four years old. On January 18, Kfir would have been two years old. The entire family has dual citizenship – Israel and Argentina. Shiri Bibas’ parents, who lived in the same kibbutz, were murdered on October 7, 2023. Lifshitz was a prisoner of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and was 83 years old at the time of his abduction.
Hamas aims to rule Gaza like Hezbollah in Lebanon
Rami Igra, former head of the Mossad’s Prisoners and Missing Persons Unit, warned in an interview with 103FM on Wednesday that Hamas aims to rule Gaza like Hezbollah, using the Palestinian Authority as a cover and maintaining control behind the scenes.
Igra discussed the ongoing negotiations over the second phase of the hostage deal and the accompanying American pressure. He emphasised that Hamas’ main goal is to remain in power in Gaza, stating, “They want to continue to rule Gaza. They will do everything to make that happen.”
He suggested that Hamas seeks to create a governance model similar to Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon, with the Palestinian Authority serving as the official front and Hamas operating behind the scenes.
As for Israel’s strategy, Igra criticised the current approach, saying that military action alone is not enough to topple Hamas. He advocated giving Gazans an alternative governance structure, perhaps through the establishment of a military administration that would present another organisation to lead.
Reflecting on past decisions, Igra noted, “The state of Israel should have conquered Gaza.” Igra also touched on the influence of American policy, expressing scepticism about the US administration’s priorities. He also said that American pressure has largely influenced the terms of the current deal, with Hamas and US influence, not Israel, determining the terms.
