IT is one of the most disturbing images of the Hamas October 7 attack which sparked the war in Gaza and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Terrified mother Shiri Bibas clutching two young children, surrounded by heavily-armed Hamas militants dragged away from their home and back into Gaza. The deaths of then nine month-old Kfir and Ariel, four and the depraved Hamas placing of the wrong remains in Shiri’s coffins symbolise the mindless cruelty of it all.
Witness also the awful news of 86 year-old Oded Lifshitz’s death, a peaceful man whose life was torn away with the others whilst in captivity, it is said. There are no ‘buts’ and we have all reported on the horror of the airstrikes unleashed on Gazans throughout the war which will be analysed for generations. Israelis and their government are torn apart by the aching cruelty of what happened to Shiri and her children, the latest pivot on which the fragile ceasefire could go either way.
The uncertainty is over but the mourning for Shiri cannot begin until she is returned to her family and who knows when and if that might happen. This situation is leaning heavily towards Israel having to react, the possibility of a breakdown of the fragile peace and a return to all-out war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to placate grieving families demanding the ceasefire holds, whilst being pulled by the right-wing demanding war.
Six living Israelis are expected to be released on Saturday in exchange for around 602 Palestinian prisoners. It is possible the latest heart-rending chapter in this tragedy, the missing remains of Shiri and the killings of her children plus the murder of an old man means Israel will have to act.
And that means Israel may reduce the number of prisoners released or even stepping up attacks in the West Bank or perhaps even target Hamas in Gaza. The ceasefire is faltering and news of the three bus explosions outside Tel Aviv on Thursday means a stepping up of IDF raids in the West Bank. The next 24 hours and the wait for further hostage-prisoner swaps will be among the most tense since this war began.
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