A poster displays Shiri Bibas, middle, who used to be abducted to Gaza along with her husband and two younger sons on Oct. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem on Friday.
Mahmoud Illean/AP
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Mahmoud Illean/AP
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli army mentioned Friday that the frame of a hostage returned an afternoon previous isn’t the mummy of 2 younger boys whose our bodies have been additionally launched by way of the Palestinian militant workforce Hamas beneath a ceasefire deal. “It is a violation of maximum severity by way of the Hamas 15 may organization,” the Israeli army mentioned in a commentary. In other places, 3 empty buses exploded Thursday night time in a southern suburb of Tel Aviv in a suspected terror assault and Israel’s high minister ordered the army to behavior an operation within the occupied West Financial institution. No casualties have been reported within the explosions and there used to be no declare of duty.
Hamas mentioned the our bodies of 4 hostages returned to Israel Thursday have been the ones of Shiri Bibas, 32, her two sons Ariel and Kfir, ages 4 years and 9 months, respectively, when captured, and Oded Lifshitz, 83. All have been taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Ouncesright through the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault. Hamas claimed the entire hostages have been killed in Israeli air moves right through the Gaza warfare. However the Israeli army mentioned forensic checking out proved the hostages have been all killed by way of their “captors,” however didn’t specify how. The our bodies of the 2 youngsters have been undoubtedly recognized by way of forensic scientists on Thursday, consistent with the Israeli army. The army mentioned forensic checking out additionally undoubtedly recognized the fourth frame as Lifshitz. Alternatively, forensic checking out decided that “the extra frame won isn’t that of Shiri Bibas, and no fit used to be discovered for every other hostage. That is an nameless, unidentified frame,” Israel’s army mentioned. “We call for that Hamas go back Shiri house along side all our hostages.” The Israeli army mentioned it had notified the Bibas’ youngsters’s father, Yarden Bibas, who used to be additionally abducted by way of Hamas however launched previous this month as a part of a ceasefire deal that began on Jan. 19. Israeli Top Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday, extending condolences to the Bibas circle of relatives. “We will be able to act resolutely to carry Shiri house, along side all our hostages—each the dwelling and the fallen,” he mentioned in a pre-recorded video.
Hamas is anticipated to liberate six are living Israeli hostages on Saturday in change for greater than 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails. That is the 8th change beneath the primary segment of the ceasefire, which is about to finish March 2. There’ll nonetheless be 59 hostages final in Gaza, just about part of them showed lifeless, consistent with Israel. Talks in regards to the subsequent segment of the deal — that have been meant to start weeks in the past — haven’t begun to happen. An authentic accustomed to the topic, who didn’t have authorization to talk publicly and demanded anonymity, informed NPR that Israel is prone to transport forward with Saturday’s prisoner liberate to keep away from impacting the anticipated liberate of the Israeli hostages. The authentic mentioned Israel will attempt to make the most of the truth that Shiri Bibas’ frame used to be now not returned as some extent of negotiation to hunt further Israeli hostage releases going ahead. Tel Aviv bus explosions A sequence of explosions on 3 buses within the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, precipitated officers to halt all trains and buses around the nation on Thursday night time. No accidents have been reported, consistent with Israeli police. Israeli officers mentioned the buses had completed their routes and have been parked in numerous quite a bit. Israeli police mentioned it discovered explosives on two different buses which failed to detonate. The ones bombs have been an identical and supplied with timers and bomb squads have been in a position to defuse them.
An Israeli police officer inspects the scene of certainly one of a chain of bus explosions in what government mentioned looked to be a militant assault in Bat Yam, central Israel on Feb. 20, 2025.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
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Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Straight away after the explosions, Netanyahu’s place of job ordered the army to accentuate its incursions within the West Financial institution the place it has escalated operations previously few weeks, the use of airstrikes and raids. Israel says it is a counterterrorism operation aimed toward strengthening safety within the West Financial institution. Palestinian forces have additionally clashed with those opponents. 1000’s of Palestinians were displaced from their houses on account of those incursions.
The most recent Israel-Hamas battle started on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants from Hamas and different teams broke throughout the border with Israel and killed some 1,200 folks and took greater than 250 folks hostage, consistent with Israeli government. Within the resulting 15 months of warfare, greater than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli moves, consistent with Gaza well being government. NPR’s Daniel Estrin contributed to this document.
