Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Hamas will pay the "full price" for returning the body of a person who was not believed to be an Israeli hostage.
Hamas returned the bodies of two child hostages on Thursday, but the third body was not the boys' mother, Shiri Bibas, as expected, the Israeli military said.
Hamas described the situation as a mix-up and an error, pledging to investigate what happened.
The Bibas family was abducted during an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The two boys were 4 years old and 10 months old. Yarden Bibas, the husband of Shiri, was released alive earlier this month.
An Israeli ministry spokesperson said the bodies of the two children were evaluated and determined to have been murdered, not killed in an Israeli airstrike as Hamas claimed.
The bodies were returned as the first phase of the ceasefire was set to wind down. The next steps remain unclear despite Hamas saying remains committed to the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Phase two of the ceasefire was supposed to include a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in exchange for the release of remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Israel was also expected to free Palestinian prisoners.
Meanwhile, Arab nations are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss alternative plans for Gaza, pushing back against a proposal from President Donald Trump. The guest list is believed to include Egypt, Jordan and Gulf countries. They are set to hold an emergency Arab League summit on March 4 to coordinate a regional response to Trump's plan, which aimed to displace Palestinians from Gaza while redeveloping the enclave.
