The Israeli military said on Friday (February 21) that two bodies released by Hamas had been identified as infant Kfir Bibas and his 4-year-old brother, Ariel Bibas.
It said that a third body was not that of Shiri Bibas, the children's mother, whose body was also supposed to be released, and that it did not belong to any other hostage. The body remains unidentified, the military said.
The children's father, Yarden Bibas was released by Hamas on February 1.
Yarden, his wife Shiri, and children, Ariel and Kfir, were seized from their home near Gaza among the approximately 250 people abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7, 2023, attack and taken into the coastal enclave.
Baby Kfir was only nine months old when he was kidnapped. Footage of the 2023 assault showed a terrified Shiri, holding her two children tightly, being taken away by militants.
Hamas stated in late 2023 that Shiri and the children had been killed by Israeli bombardments on Gaza, part of the massive military response to the October 2023 attack.
(Production: Vaishnavi Hajari, Mussab Al-Khairalla)