The Israeli Army announced on Wednesday, November 29, that it is looking into a claim made by Hamas’s armed wing regarding the alleged deaths of a 10-month-old baby, his four-year-old brother, and their mother in Gaza.
The Israeli Army said on Wednesday that it was investigating a report by Hamas’s armed wing that a 10-month-old baby hostage, his four-year-old brother, and their mother had all been killed in Gaza.
The military was “assessing the accuracy of the information,” it said in a statement.
“Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip,” it added. “Hamas’ actions continue to endanger the hostages, which include nine children.”
The Bibas family is among the highest-profile hostages seized in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, due to the age of baby Kfir.
The statement from the Israeli military came after the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that Kfir, his brother Ariel, and their mother Shiri had been killed in an earlier Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip, before the current pause in fighting went into effect.
It made no mention of the boys’ father, Yarden.
The military wing has previously claimed that 60 hostages were killed in Israeli bombings. There has been no verification of the figure.
The family was being held by a Palestinian faction other than Hamas, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a briefing a few days ago.
In a previous case, Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group allied with Hamas, announced the death of a hostage who was later released alive.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
