Hamas says 3 Israeli hostages, including infant, are no longer alive

Last-minute negotiations between Israel and Hamas to extend the Gaza truce were overshadowed on Wednesday by an unconfirmed claim by Hamas that a 10-month old baby Israeli hostage and his family had been killed.

Shortly before the final release of women and children hostages under the current pause in violence, the military wing of Hamas said the youngest hostage, baby Kfir Bibas, had been killed in an earlier Israeli bombing, along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother, Shiri. Their father, Yarden, has also been held.

The date and circumstances of the alleged bombing were not immediately clear.

Israel said it was checking the claim, which was potentially explosive, as the family were among the highest-profile civilian hostages yet to be freed.

"Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip," the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Reuters could not independently confirm the Hamas statement. Relatives had issued a special appeal for the family's freedom after the children and their parents were excluded from the penultimate group freed on Tuesday.

"We are waiting for the information to be confirmed and hopefully refuted by military officials. We thank the people of Israel for their warm support, but kindly request privacy during this difficult time," said a statement attributed to relatives of the family and released by the Abducted and Missing Persons Families Forum in Israel.

CBC News spoke to Tomer Keshet, Yarden Bibas's cousin, at a Tel Aviv rally on Tuesday. Keshet said the process of waiting to hear if his family was among the released hostages "nerve-racking."

"It's been so long. Every day that passes, the chances of survival decrease," Keshet told CBC's Briar Stewart, noting that those at the rally were calling on the Israeli government "to do what they can before it's too late."

WATCH | Relative of hostages describes emotional 'roller-coaster':

Relative of Israeli hostages calls waiting a 'roller-coaster of hope ... and disappointment'

1 year ago

Duration 0:42

Tomer Keshet, whose cousin's entire family was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, says he's overjoyed for other families when he sees hostages released, but calls the process of waiting for the return of his loved ones 'nerve-racking.'

'Human lives hang in the balance'

Families of the Israeli hostages who were due to be released on Wednesday were informed earlier of their names, the final group to be freed under the current truce; international mediators continued work on Wednesday to extend the truce in Gaza.

Officials did not say at the time whether that included the Bibas family.

Gaza's Hamas rulers published a list of 15 women and 15 teenagers to be released from Israeli jails in return for the hostages, among the approximately 240 people seized by Hamas fighters in their deadly raid on Israel on Oct. 7.

WATCH | Ali Weinstein says her family doesn't know if her aunt is even alive: 

'Holding our breath' for a miracle, says relative of Canadian believed to among Hamas hostages

1 year ago

Duration 1:51

Ali Weinstein, the niece of Judih Weinstein Haggai, says her family has had many sleepless nights as they wait for word of whether their loved one will be among the hostages released by Hamas.

For the first time since the truce began, the list of Palestinians to be freed included Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as residents of occupied territory.

So far, Gaza militants have freed 60 Israeli women and children captured on Oct. 7. In return, Israel has released 180 Palestinian security detainees, all women and teenagers.

Negotiators seeking to prolong the six-day truce in Gaza believe it can be extended for another two days, two Egyptian security sources said on Wednesday.

The number of civilian hostages held by Hamas who would be released under the extension was still being worked out, the sources said.

Negotiations for the release of civilian hostages were going well, but military hostages held by Hamas presented an obstacle, the sources added.

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said Israel would consider any serious proposal, though he declined to provide further details.

"We are doing everything we can in order to get those hostages out. Nothing is confirmed until it is confirmed," Levy told reporters in Tel Aviv. "We're talking about very sensitive negotiations in which human lives hang in the balance."

Once the release of hostages ends, the fighting will resume, he said: "This war will end with the end of Hamas."

U.S. hopes for prolonged truce

Qatar, which mediated indirect talks between Hamas and Israel that resulted in the ceasefire, on Tuesday hosted the spy chiefs from Israel's Mossad and the CIA.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he would work with the Israelis during his trip to Israel in the coming days to see if a temporary ceasefire could be extended.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels following a NATO meeting, Blinken said the continuation of the pauses would mean more hostages to be freed and more assistance getting into Gaza.

"Clearly, that's something we want. I believe it's also something that Israel wants," he said.

"We're working on that every single day and I expect to take that up tomorrow when I'm in Israel with the government," he added.

Blinken, who also will visit Jordan and the United Arab Emirates this week, said he would also be having conversations about the future of Gaza and a future two-state solution to the conflict.

Reports emerged Tuesday that the U.S. had asked Israel to take greater care to protect civilians and limit damage to infrastructure in any offensive in southern Gaza if and when the truce expires. Israel urged Palestinians in Gaza to migrate south in previous weeks during their air campaign.

Some 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, many of them children, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.

• What questions do you have about the war between Israel and Hamas? Send an email to [email protected].

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, including on Wednesday, that overcrowding in Gaza could spread infectious diseases in the densely populated enclave. Several hospitals and clinics have closed in the enclave due to a lack of fuel and other resources.

"With severe overcrowding, the risks are increasing for epidemics of respiratory tract infections, acute watery diarrhea, hepatitis, scabies, lice and other diseases," said World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The comments from the White House represent a distinct shift in Joe Biden's administration policy after strong domestic and international criticism. It comes a month after the White House said it had set no "red lines" for Israel's response to Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks, with the U.S. committing substantial military aid to Israel.

The message has been delivered from the president on down, the U.S. officials told reporters on a conference call.

"We have reinforced this in very clear language with the government of Israel — very important that the conduct of the Israeli campaign when it moves to the south must be done in a way that is to a maximum extent not designed to produce significant further displacement of persons," one official said.

It wasn't clear what, if any, consequences Israel could potentially face for not heeding the U.S. warning.