Israel braced on Thursday for the return of the bodies of infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in their October 7, 2023 attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day.

One of four bodies returned from Gaza to Israel on Thursday is not hostage Shiri Bibas, as claimed by Hamas, the Israeli military said. The news that Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, who would now be aged five and two, were dead triggered an outpouring of grief in Israel.

The 251 people, mostly Israelis, were taken hostage by Hamas and dragged back into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when the militant group launched its bloody surprise attack on Israel that ignited the war. Sixty-five hostages are believed to remain in Hamas' custody in Gaza. Many are believed dead.