Twisted Hamas terrorists murdered Kfir and Ariel Bibas with their bare hands and returned their remains without their mother's body, Israel said.

       Two of the youngest Israeli hostages taken in Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, were "murdered by terrorists in cold blood", according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

       "The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys - they killed them with their bare hands," IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari claimed. "Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities," he added in a statement. "There are no words left in the dictionary."

       “According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” the IDF also said in a statement.

       The harrowing news comes after the bodies of the Bibas brothers were returned by Hamas on Thursday, dashing their family's hopes that they were still alive. They were just four-years-old and nine-months-old when they were abducted.

       READ MORE: BBC pulls controversial documentary accused of being Hamas 'propaganda'

       Hopes for closure for their family were shattered by the revelation that the body Hamas said belonged to the brothers' mother Shiri was not hers, or that of any other Israeli hostage.

       Hamas had promised that the murdered mother's remains would be returned with those of her children as part of an ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

       The IDF raged that the failure to hand over Shiri's body was a "very serious violation" of the fragile agreement.

       The children's father, Yarden Bibas, was released on February 1 as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, where 33 hostages are due to be freed in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

       Don't miss...

       Benjamin Netanyahu shown plans to redevelop Gaza [REPORT]

       Horror as 'several buses explode' in suspected terror attack in Israel [REPORT]

       Pro-Palestinian protesters splatter BBC headquarters with red paint [REPORT]

       Mr Bibas has pleaded with Hamas for information about his family since his release, after being held in a different area to his wife and young children while in captivity.

       Nine-month-old Kfir was the youngest hostage taken by the terror group in the October 7 attack, and became a symbol for the horror of the attack on the world stage.

       "For months, we prayed for the Bibas babies to come home," Israel said on X.

       "Yesterday, our worst nightmare was confirmed."