Twisted Hamas terrorists murdered the Bibas brothers 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.

"The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys - they killed them with their bare hands," the military said in a post on X.

"Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities," they added. "There are no words left in the dictionary."

The harrowing news comes after the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were returned by Hamas on Thursday, dashing their family's hopes that they were still alive.

The brothers were just four-years-old and nine-months-old when they were abducted.