TEL AVIV, Israel >> The Israeli military said Friday it had positively identified the remains of two young hostages but another body released by Hamas under a ceasefire deal was not the boys’ mother as the militant group had promised.

The revelation was a twist in the saga surrounding the Bibas family, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and threw the future of the fragile ceasefire into question.

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the army said in a statement.

During the monthlong ceasefire, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Thursday’s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.

Early in the day, Hamas had turned over four bodies to the Red Cross. Israel quickly confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas had said the other remains belonged to Shiri Bibas, and her two young boys, Ariel and Kfir. In an overnight announcement, the army said Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine had identified the boys, but the final set of remains did not belong to their mother. It said the remains did not match any other hostage either.

“This is an anonymous, unidentified body,” it said. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”

It said the army had notified their family, including Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and father of the two boys, who was released early this month as part of the ceasefire deal.

Hamas has claimed all four of the hostages returned Thursday were killed in Israeli airstrikes. But Israel said the testing had found the two boys and Lifshitz were killed by their captors.

Hamas did not respond to Israel’s announcement that the body was not of the boys’ mother.

In another potential blow to the deal, a series of explosions Thursday on three parked buses rattled central Israel.

There were no injuries and no claim of responsibility. But the Israeli military said in response it was beefing up its forces in the West Bank, raising the likelihood of further escalation in the area. Israel has been carrying out a broad military offensive in the occupied territory since the ceasefire took effect.

Theatrical event

Militants who handed over the bodies displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including one depicting Netanyahu as a vampire. On each coffin, a photo of one of the hostages was stapled to the side.

Large numbers of masked and armed militants looked on as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces. The military later held a small funeral ceremony, at the request of the families, before transferring the bodies to the forensics lab for DNA testing.

Outpouring of grief

The return of the remains Thursday had set off a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay their respects to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional nighttime vigil.

Many people wiped away tears and softly sang the national anthem as the caravan wound through southern Israel — a stark contrast to the celebratory return of 24 living hostages in recent weeks under the tenuous ceasefire.

The handover was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity.

“Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages, including about 30 children, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Most of the hostages have been released or rescued, or their remains have been recovered. But Israel estimates 66 remain in captivity, roughly half of whom are still believed to be alive.

Will ceasefire last?

Hamas is set to free six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and says it will release four more bodies next week, completing the first phase. That will leave the militants with about 60 hostages, all men and about half believed to be dead.

Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the full backing of the Trump administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.

Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes that the war will resume.

Israel’s military offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza’s population.