Israel has accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement after discovering that one of the bodies handed over during Thursday’s exchange did not belong to any known hostage. The military is demanding the return of the missing remains.
The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that while two of the bodies returned by Hamas were identified as infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, a third body—expected to be their mother, Shiri—did not match any known hostage. The military called it “a violation of utmost severity” and demanded the return of all hostages.
Hamas has not yet responded to the accusation.
The handover took place as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt. The bodies, including that of hostage Oded Lifshitz, were delivered in a highly publicized event attended by armed Hamas militants and Palestinian crowds. The display drew international condemnation, with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calling it “abhorrent and appalling.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation, saying the “four coffins” reinforced Israel’s commitment to ensuring that Hamas would never be able to repeat the October 7 attack.
Tensions Over Hostage Exchange
The Bibas children were reportedly killed in Hamas captivity in November 2023.
Lifshitz, an 83-year-old former journalist, was murdered over a year ago, according to forensic officials.
The handover marked the first return of bodies under the current ceasefire agreement.
Israelis gathered near the Gaza border and in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to mourn, as President Isaac Herzog described the nation’s grief: “Our hearts lie in tatters.”
Meanwhile, negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire continue, with plans to release six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Talks on the release of around 60 remaining hostages and a potential Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza are expected in the coming days.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of December, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela on Tuesday (16 December), in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government, targeting its main source of income.
The younger son of Hollywood filmmaker and political activist Rob Reiner was formally charged on Tuesday (16 December) with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, who were found slain in their Los Angeles home over the weekend.
Police in Australia said on Wednesday (17 December) they had charged a man who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish event on Sydney's Bondi Beach with 59 offences, including a terror charge. It was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in more than 30 years.
At least 37 people have been killed in flash floods triggered by torrential rain in Morocco's Atlantic coastal province of Safi, Moroccan authorities said on Monday (15 December).
Fighting along the Thailand–Cambodia border has entered a fifth consecutive day, despite U.S. President Donald Trump claiming he had brokered a ceasefire between the two sides.
Authorities discovered the lifeless bodies of renowned filmmaker Rob Reiner, aged 78, and his wife, Michele Reiner, 68, in their upscale Brentwood home in Los Angeles on Sunday. The police investigation has labeled the incident an apparent homicide.
Schools across Cambodia and Thailand were forced to close on Monday (15 December) as border clashes between the two countries escalated, with the death toll reaching at least 40 and hundreds of thousands of people displaced, according to officials and local media.
Cambodia must be the first to declare a ceasefire in the ongoing border conflict, Thailand said on Tuesday (16 December), as fighting continued despite earlier claims that hostilities would stop and at least 52 people have been killed on both sides.
Across Iraq’s wheat belt, farmers are turning away from traditional river-fed irrigation as the Tigris and Euphrates shrink, replacing canals with wells, sprinklers and storage basins.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian officials following a one-day visit to Minsk on Monday 15 December ,where he met with Belarusian counterpart Maxim Ryzhenov.
Kazakhstan is considering deeper involvement in major gas projects in Turkmenistan, signalling interest in both upstream development and cross-border export infrastructure as the region searches for new energy routes and partnerships.
Applications are now open for the WUF13 Urban Expo. Interested exhibitors have until 31 March 2026 to secure a place at one of the world’s leading platforms for urban innovation.
Azerbaijan has long understood the importance of fostering strong relations with its Central Asian neighbours as the country is strategically located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
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