One of Four Hostage Bodies Identified as "Unidentified"
Israeli Military: "Hamas Violated the Ceasefire Agreement"
Among the four hostage bodies sent by the Palestinian armed faction Hamas to Israel, one was confirmed to be unidentified. Israel showed a strong reaction, calling it a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement.
On the 20th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported that among the four hostage bodies handed over by Hamas that day, one was found to be unidentified based on DNA testing by the Israeli military. Hamas handed over the bodies of four hostages to Israel the previous day in accordance with the ceasefire agreement: Siri Bivas (32 years old at the time of abduction), her two sons Ariel (4) and Kfir (10 months old), and Oded Lipschitz (84). However, the body identified as Siri Bivas, the mother of the two sons, was revealed to be that of an unidentified person.
Photo of Siri Bivas and her son Kfir, who lost their lives after being kidnapped by Hamas. Photo by EPA Yonhap News
Siri and her two sons, who lived near the Gaza Strip in Nir Oz Kibbutz, were abducted during Hamas's terror attack on October 7, 2023. At that time, about one-quarter of the 400 residents of Nir Oz Kibbutz were either killed or taken hostage by Hamas, with Kfir, who was 10 months old, being the youngest hostage. Siri’s husband and the father of the children, Yarden, was also abducted by Hamas separately from the family but was released earlier this month under the ceasefire agreement.
About a month after abducting them, Hamas claimed that "Siri and her two sons died due to Israeli airstrikes." However, after receiving the bodies, the Israeli National Forensic Center concluded that the Bivas brothers were killed by Hamas while in captivity. Israeli forensic experts also compared the DNA of the unidentified body with that of other female hostages but found no matches. Oded was determined to have been killed about a year ago.
The Israeli military issued a statement condemning Hamas for seriously violating the ceasefire agreement. Previously, Hamas had also caused controversy by holding mass events and forcing expressions of gratitude during the process of releasing surviving hostages.
According to the ceasefire agreement reached last month between Hamas and Israel, hostilities have been halted for six weeks in the first phase, during which hostages and prisoners are being exchanged. Discussions on the second and third phases of the ceasefire, including the release of Israeli soldiers and a permanent ceasefire, are set to begin. Under the condition that Israel releases more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages, including eight bodies.
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