Hamas returns bodies of youngest hostages

GAZA — Hamas handed over the bodies on Thursday of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest hostages taken by Hamas in their Oct 7,2023, attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day.

Red Cross vehicles drove away from the handover site in the Gaza Strip with four black coffins that had been placed on a stage. Each of the caskets had a small picture of the hostages.

Hamas handed over the bodies of the two boys and their mother Shiri Bibas, along with a fourth hostage, under the Gaza cease-fire agreement reached last month with the backing of the United States and the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief video statement that Thursday would be "a very difficult day for the state of Israel. An upsetting day, a day of grief".

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile truce, which has held since taking effect on Jan 19 despite accusations of violations on both sides.

On Wednesday, Hamas signaled that it was willing to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of an ongoing cease-fire.

An Israeli official said Netanyahu has appointed a close confidant to lead negotiations for the second stage of the cease-fire with Hamas.

The US-born Ron Dermer is a Cabinet minister who's widely seen as Netanyahu's closest adviser. He previously served as Israel's ambassador to the US and is a former Republican activist with strong ties to the White House.

Red lines

Muhammad Shehada of the European Council on Foreign Relations said after more than a year of devastating Israeli assault in Gaza, "Hamas wants to prevent the war resuming at any cost," albeit with some "red lines".

"And one of those red lines is that they should continue to exist, basically, whereas Netanyahu's position is that they should dismantle themselves," he said.

The appearance that Washington is now in complete alignment with Netanyahu's government, as displayed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit this week, strengthened the Israeli premier's hand in negotiations, according to Michael Horowitz, an expert at the risk management consultancy Le Beck International.

It gives Netanyahu "more room to pressure Hamas", Horowitz said, adding that US President Donald Trump "prefers that the agreement moves forward, but he's leaving the field open to Netanyahu … as long as the cease-fire is maintained".

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, three Palestinians were killed on Wednesday by Israeli forces in the al-Faraa camp near Tubas, the Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported.

Security forces told WAFA that the three people were killed after the Israeli military fired bullets and shells at their home.

Wednesday's incident comes as Israel continues with a weekslong offensive that has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in refugee camps in the West Bank.

Agencies Via Xinhua