STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In Israel, authorities say a body returned by Hamas - a hostage - is not who the militants claimed it to be.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Among the four bodies handed over yesterday were supposed to be those of two young boys and their mother. But after forensic testing, Israeli officials said the mother's remains were not among the bodies of the returned hostages.
INSKEEP: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has been following events. Hadeel, good morning.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: I just have to ask - what happened?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, we know that Hamas was supposed to return the bodies of Shiri Bibas - she was 32 when she was kidnapped - her two young sons, Ariel, who was 4 at the time, and Kfir, who was just 9 months old. Hamas also said they returned Oded Lifshitz, who was 83. And then later in the day, Israeli officials said that forensic testing positively identified the bodies of Lifshitz and the two young boys. But the body that was supposed to be the kids' mother was what they said, quote, "an anonymous, unidentified body." The Israeli military said that that body didn't even belong to any known hostage.
Now, you have to understand, the Bibas family really became the symbol of Israeli pain after the attacks of October 7 - you know, the plight of the hostages. The boys were just so young. So the news did come as a shock to the country. And then, in a statement today, Hamas acknowledged there could have been an error. And the remains thought to be Shiri Bibas' could have been mixed with the remains of a Palestinian who was staying in the location where the hostages were being kept. Hamas is asking Israel to return the remains of that Palestinian.
INSKEEP: Each of these hostage returns, whether people are living or dead, has been horrifying in one way or another and dismaying to people in Israel. So what does all this mean for the next steps - another hostage exchange and the next phase of the peace talks?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah, so that next hostage exchange is supposed to happen tomorrow. And I have to say, you know, like, the whole ceasefire has been so precarious. Just last week, there was a chance the deal was going to just fall all apart when Hamas alleged Israel committed violations. Israel denied them. But it also looks like both sides want to get this done - especially now, with pressure from the United States. So NPR talked to an Israeli official who's familiar with the matter, but they weren't authorized to speak publicly. And we were told that Israel is actually inclined to move ahead with Saturday's prisoner exchange. They said Israel just doesn't want to jeopardize the release of the Israeli hostages this weekend. But then the official also said Israel is going to take advantage that Shiri Bibas' body wasn't returned as a point of negotiation to ask for more hostage releases going forward.
INSKEEP: Hadeel, what is this news of explosions in Tel Aviv in Israel that has come out in the same 24-hour period as the hostage exchange - of the bodies returned?
AL-SHALCHI: That's right. So three buses exploded in a suburb called Bat Yam. It's just south of Tel Aviv. Luckily, no injuries were reported. The police said the buses were empty. They had just finished their routes. They were parked in lots around the city. Israeli police said it found explosives on two other buses which didn't detonate. The bombs were the same type as those that had exploded, and bomb squads were able to diffuse them. No group claimed responsibility. But right away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office ordered the military to step up its incursions in the occupied West Bank. The military has escalated its airstrikes and raids there since the beginning of the ceasefire, especially around the city of Jenin. Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from their homes because of these attacks, and Israel says the operations are trying to root out militants.
INSKEEP: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi, thanks for your reporting. Really appreciate it, as always.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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