For 16 months, the smiles of Silivivvas and her two young sons, Ariel and KFIR, had slowly retreated to the background of Israeli life as the photo was taken. – Fade, tear, and skinned.
On Friday, Vivas' life and annoyed deaths are at the forefront of Israeli collective consciousness in a surprising and unsettling way that raises new alarms about the fate of a vulnerable ceasefire in Gaza and the fate of high levels of diplomatic efforts. i'm back. , gaining momentum to extend the ceasefire and end the war.
Early on Friday morning, Israeli forces announced Thursday that Hamas had nominally appeared to be someone else's body. And autopsy of two boys, four and eight months at the time of acquiring, revealed that they had been killed by Gaza terrorists, the military said.
Hamas, who previously said he was killed in an Israeli missile strike, said in a statement he was investigating the claims, and Vivas' body was mistakenly confused with Palestinians who died in Israel's chaotic aftermath. He suggested that there could be. attack. Accounts on either side could not be verified independently.
The news has since turbulent times in which up to 1,200 people were killed and 251, including Vivas and her son, following Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. It caused Israel's anger and pain attacks. , the most deadly day in Israel's history.
In response to the military announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the language of vengeance that defined his speech in the aftermath of that attack.
“May God revenge their blood,” Netanyahu said in a speech to the nation recorded on Friday morning. “And we'll have vengeance too.”
The cry of Netanyahu's response was maintained for most of Israel's political spectrum. Former Prime Minister Naphtari Bennett said in a broadcast interview that Vivas' treatment showed that “the majority of Gazan wants to kill all of the Israelis.” (Last fall poll suggests that under 40% of Gazan Palestinians supported the October 7 attack, falling from over 70% at the beginning of last year.)
For some Israelis, fear underscored the need to resume the war to defeat Hamas completely. The current ceasefire is set to pass in early March unless Hamas and Israel agree to an extension. “The only solution is Hamas' destruction and we should not postpone this,” far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotric said in a social media post.
But others call for calm, and the fate of the Vivas family is why it is necessary to extend business to bring about 70 hostages home, both living in Gaza. He claimed to have been exemplified.
“We remember our best duties. “All of them. Until the end,” Israel's mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, said in a statement.
Six living Israeli hostages are scheduled to be released on Saturday, and analysts said Israel would likely do anything to put their freedoms at risk.
The long-term future of the armistice did not seem very clear. Arab leaders were scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia on Friday to try to crush a proposal for postwar reconstruction in Gaza, which would allow for a peaceful transfer of power from Hamas to an alternative Palestinian regime.
However, in Israel, analysts speculated that the government wanted to forcefully expel Hamas.
“If Netanyahu and his far-right partners are reached, next week – once the first phase of the transaction is complete, the four bodies of fallen hostages are back. War in Gaza,” said the left-leaning newspaper. writes Amos Harrell, commentator on military affairs at Harretz. “This time they promise without restrictions.”
Johatan Reese Contributed report from Tel Aviv Rawan Sheikh Ahmad From Haifa, Israel.
