The News
Hamas on Thursday handed over to Israel the bodies of the youngest hostages it took in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
The release of the bodies of four-year-old Ariel Bibas and his nine-month-old brother Kfir formed part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which has wavered in recent days.
The militant group said the toddlers were killed along with their mother Shiri by an Israeli airstrike while in captivity, although it provided no evidence.
A BBC correspondent called the image of the terrified Shiri cradling the boys in her arms as they were taken was “one of the most searing to emerge” from the attacks, which triggered Israel’s invasion of the enclave and reshaped the balance of power in the Middle East.
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