Netanyahu Goes on Offensive After Bodies of Oct 7 Victims Spark Fury

Israeli PM promises to avenge death of mother-sons as Hamas admits to mix-up in sending back bodies; victim's kin say govt did not work to rescue trio on time

- Agence France-Presse

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accused Hamas of murdering two Israeli children in Gaza and vowed the militants would pay for failing to return their mother, Shiri Bibas, after Hamas blamed a possible "mix-up of bodies." Meanwhile, the Bibas family criticized Netanyahu, accusing him of failing to protect their loved ones during Hamas's 2023 attack and of failing to secure their return.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said after an analysis of the remains that Palestinian militants had killed the Bibas boys "with their bare hands," while Hamas has long maintained an Israeli air strike killed them and their mother early in the war.

Relatives of the Bibas family, however, suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also accountable for the deaths, saying he would receive "no forgiveness" for abandoning the mother and her children during their ordeal.

More than 15 months of war have left much of Gaza in ruins after Palestinian militants attacked Israel and seized 251 hostages on October 7, 2023.

Hamas had said the four bodies returned on Thursday in accordance with the truce included those of Bibas and her two sons Ariel, aged four at the time of his abduction, and Kfir, the youngest hostage at just nine months old.