Israel has confirmed that the Hamas violated the ceasefire deal after forensic testing revealed the body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of Shiri Bibas.
“During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.” the Israel Defense Force (IDF) stated.
According to IDF, the three other bodies handed over have been identified as her sons, Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, and that of veteran peace activist, Oded Lifshitz.
But the fourth body was not Shiri nor any other hostage, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleging on Friday that Hamas “put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin”.
Hamas has not yet responded to this nor the IDF claim that the boys “were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023”, according to intelligence and forensics.
Israel demanded the return of Shiri’s body along with the other remaining hostages: “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages. Ariel Bibas was four years old at the time of his death, and Kfir Bibas was ten months old at the time of his death.
“They were abducted with their mother, Shiri Bibas, from their home in Nir Oz. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, went out to protect them and was abducted prior to the abduction of Shiri and the children. Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on February 1, 2025.
“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said.
The IDF post on X further revealed that the exclusion of Shiri’s body by the Hamas violated the terms of agreement: “This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages.”
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. The children’s father Yarden Bibas, 34.
The release of hostages’ bodies was agreed as part of the ceasefire deal which came into effect on 19 January, and Israel has confirmed it expects eight bodies will be handed over.
The two sides agreed to exchange 33 hostages for about 1,900 prisoners by the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire.
Twenty-eight hostages and more than 1,000 prisoners have so far been exchanged.
Sixty-six hostages taken on 7 October are still being held in Gaza. Three other hostages, taken more than a decade ago, are also being held. About half of all the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
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