Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas will pay for not returning Shiri Bibas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as agreed.

"We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said in a video statement.

The statement came after Israeli specialists said that one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas on Thursday was an unidentified woman and not Shiri Bibas, whose two sons, Kfir and Ariel were handed over and identified.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her two sons and her husband, Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Hamas has not issued any public comment so far on the Israeli accusation, which threatens to derail the fragile ceasefire agreement reached with U.S. backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month.

However, it was not immediately clear whether it would delay or prevent the handover of six living hostages due for release on Saturday, or whether it would interrupt the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire, expected in the coming days.