Israel-Hamas war: Hamas says 10-month-old baby hostage dead, Israel Defence Force investigating claim

A 10-month-old baby held hostage in Gaza is dead, Hamas claims.

Kfir Bibas, the youngest of the roughly 240 people kidnapped on October 7, was said to have died along with his 4-year-old brother Ariel and mother Shira, 32.

The claims came a day after it had been reported that Hamas had handed the family members over to a different terror group and that they were being held in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.

On Wednesday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was investigating while supporting the hostages’ loved ones.

The baby, his brother and his mother were abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz along with their father and husband, Yarden, 34.

Kfir Bibas (10 months old) is the youngest Hamas hostage.

Video footage showing a terrified Shira Bibas holding her two sons, both with distinctive red hair, as she was led away by terrorists became one of the defining images of the atrocity.

Jimmy Miller, a cousin of Shira Bibas, said: “Hamas abducted them alive. Hamas is solely responsible for their wellbeing. Hamas must return them to us alive.

“We’re not interested in whether they transferred them to somebody else or to some other group.”

The IDF said: “The barbarism and cruelty of Hamas is on full display to the world.”

“The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information.”

Hamas has claimed on a number of occasions, without verification, that hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.

It came as the sixth batch of hostages was due to be released, on the second and final day of the two-day extension to the original four-day ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Qatari mediators said they were optimistic about a further extension, with Hamas reported to be seeking another four-day truce, raising the prospect of at least another 40 hostages being released.

Israel believes Hamas has enough women and children hostages to allow the current pause in fighting in Gaza to be extended by another two to three days, an official involved in the negotiating process said on Wednesday.

The image of Shiri clutching Kfir and Ariel is one of the most memorable from the attacks.

“We know for a fact that there are additional hostages in the hands of Hamas for at least two more days, potentially three days from the list of women and children,” said the official, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

“Any additional agreement would be conditional on, first of all, releasing these remaining women and children and only then could we negotiate follow-on agreements,” he said.

On Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue the military offensive in Gaza, emphasising that Israel’s goal was the elimination of Hamas, as well as the release of hostages.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday night that Mr Netanyahu had spoken to the Bibas family.

The statement said: “The prime minister told the family members that the matter is being examined by all the security forces, and all information will be provided to them. Netanyahu promised that the state of Israel will do everything to return them to Israel.”

The prime minister again appeared to be caught between international pressure for a lasting ceasefire and the belligerence of his coalition partners.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, said on Wednesday that if Israel did not continue its war with Hamas, his political faction would leave the government coalition.

Child hostages in ‘reasonable health’

On Wednesday, Eylon Levy, the Israeli Government spokesman, said 161 hostages were believed to still be captive in Gaza, including four children and 10 people aged over 75.

He said it was not clear how many of the hostages were soldiers.

The Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, which is taking care of a number of released children, said its patients were in “reasonable health” but that long-term nutritional plans for them were being put in place.

The relative of a 12-year-old hostage released as part of the deal said that he had been beaten and that he and other child hostages had been threatened by men with rifles to keep quiet while in captivity.

David Hand, the father of 9-year-old Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, said his daughter was talking in “whispers”, such was the fear that her Hamas captors had instilled.

Meanwhile, two Israelis with Russian citizenship were to be released on Wednesday as a gesture to Vladimir Putin.

Another 10 Israelis being held in Gaza have been released by Hamas to the Red Cross, according to reports.