IDF says 1 of 4 bodies returned to Israel from Hamas does not belong to a hostage

(LONDON) — One of the four bodies handed over from Gaza to Israel on Thursday does not include a hostage, the Israel Defense Forces said, calling it a “very serious violation” by Hamas.

Thursday marked the latest return of deceased hostages as part of the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel. Israel and Hamas had confirmed the names of the four bodies returned to Israel Thursday as Oded Lifshitz, a journalist and peace activist, and Shiri Bibas and her two children — Ariel and Kfir Bibas.

After Israeli officials conducted forensic analysis to confirm the identities of the bodies, the IDF said the bodies of Lifshitz and Shiri Bibas’ two children were identified. But the fourth body was not Shiri Bibas — nor was it a match for another hostage, the IDF said.

“It is an anonymous body without identification,” the IDF said in a statement. “This is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is required by the agreement to return four dead abductees. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all of our abductees.”

“We share the deep sorrow of the Bibas family at this difficult time,” the statement added.

Hamas has not responded to the IDF’s findings.

Red Cross officials took custody of four black coffins during a ceremony in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis earlier Thursday. A Red Cross official and a Hamas commander appeared on a stage to sign documents as part of the handover. The coffins were also brought onto the stage.

A banner on the stage declared in both Arabic and English: “The Return of War = The Return of Your Prisoners in Coffins.”

An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News that an IDF-held ceremony took place in the IDF-controlled Gaza buffer zone before the coffins were brought across the border into Israel. The bodies were taken to Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir neighborhood.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming Israel’s receipt of the bodies earlier Thursday. “The families of the abductees have been informed and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time,” the statement said.

“The public is asked to respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded,” it added.

During the handover, Hamas released a statement that read in part, “To the families of Bibas and Lifshitz: We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”

“They killed with them: 17,881 Palestinian children, in their criminal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and we know that you know who is truly responsible for their departure,” the statement added. “You were the victim of a leadership that does not care about its children.”

Kfir Bibas was 8 1/2 months old when he was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — the youngest of the 251 hostages taken on the day the group carried out its terror attack on Israel — the worst in the country’s history. In the ensuing war, more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.

Ariel Bibas was 4 at the time of his death, the IDF said. Both children were determined to have been killed in captivity in November 2023, the IDF said Thursday.

Their father, Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped and freed earlier this month, the IDF said.

Oded Lifshitz’s wife, Yocheved, was among the first few hostages released during the first ceasefire agreement in November 2023. Sixty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after Thursday’s release.

“At this difficult time, our hearts go out to the grieving families,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The Hostage Families Forum called for the second stage of the three-stage ceasefire to proceed, saying there is “no time to waste.” In the second phase of the ceasefire agreement — which should last 42 days — Israel is to completely withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel also agreed to a permanent cessation of all military operations and hostilities before all remaining Israeli hostages, civilians and soldiers are released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

“We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. This news cuts like a knife through our hearts, the families’ hearts and the hearts of people all over the world,” the families of the hostages said in a statement Wednesday.

“We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week,” families of hostages said.

Six other hostages are expected to be released on Saturday and four more bodies will be returned to Israel next week. The hostages who will be released on Saturday have been identified as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Negotiations to set the terms for the second phase of the ceasefire have not started, but mediators are pushing to have talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before the second phase is expected to begin (the first phase is expected to last 42 days), Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas has accused Israel of avoiding negotiations and says it’s ready to negotiate.

Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

Hamas later said the exchange would take place as planned and released three hostages this past Saturday.

ABC News’ Jordana Miller contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.