Israel identifies remains of child hostages but says another body from Hamas was not their mother

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 shocking 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.