Israel says investigating reports Hamas handed over Shiri Bibas’ body
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh has reported that the Qassam Brigades – Hamas’s military wing – says it handed Shiri Bibas’s remains to the Red Cross.
“We are waiting to see confirmation from the Red Cross about that,” Odeh said.
In a post on X, the Israeli military said it is investigating the reports. “[Israeli army] representatives are in contact with the family,” it said.
Red Cross confirms receiving coffin from Hamas
What we can now report is that the Red Cross has confirmed receiving a coffin from Hamas, which the Gaza-based group says has the body of Shiri Bibas.
The Israeli army will receive the coffin from the Red Cross as soon as coordination for that happens.
The situation on the ground is quite complex.
Any movement in the night for the Red Cross will have to be closely coordinated with the Israeli army, which remains in a so-called buffer zone that remains 700 metres (2,296 feet) to one kilometre (0.6 miles) deep into the territory.
Hamas took ‘extra effort’ to show commitment to ceasefire deal
Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, says the return of Bibas’s body is “an incentive” for Saturday’s captive-prisoner swap to move forward “in an orderly fashion”.
“I think Hamas undertook extra special effort to demonstrate its seriousness and its commitment to the deal,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.
“It’s in both sides’ interests to complete phase one and the release of the six live Israeli captives and the Palestinian prisoners.”
Gaza official reports more than 350 Israeli violations of ceasefire deal
The head of the Gaza Government Media Office says Israel has carried out more than 350 violations of the January 15 ceasefire agreement. In a statement, Ismail al-Thawabteh said the violations demonstrate Israel’s “continued breach of commitments and its defiance of the international community”.
Since the ceasefire was signed, the Israeli army has killed and injured dozens of Palestinians through air strikes, including those carried out by fighter jets and drones, as well as direct shootings or drone strikes.
Further violations include Israeli incursions into border areas east of the Gaza Strip.
The Central Emergency Committee in Rafah in the southern part of Gaza reported continued Israeli army movements in the central and western parts of the city in recent days.
Hamas, in a previous statement, also reported multiple Israeli breaches of the ceasefire, such as delaying the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, obstructing the entry of shelter supplies, and delaying the arrival of medical necessities.
