Young mum Shiri Bibas, 32, was kidnapped along with her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, aged 4 years and 9 months, during the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023
Hamas has revealed Shiri Bibas’ body was not returned in the latest Gaza exchange – claiming it appears to have been mixed with other human remains in rubble.
In a statement released on Friday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the handover of the wrong remains as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which has halted fighting in the Gaza Strip, and said Hamas would “pay the full price” for the action.
Hamas militants turned over four bodies on Thursday under the ceasefire, which has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war on October 7, 2023.
The remains of Shiri Bibas’ two young sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were positively identified, the Israeli Defence Forces said, but added the fourth body was not that of their mother, nor of any other hostage.
“We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said.
“The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge,” he added. Netanyahu added said Hamas acted “in an unspeakably cynical manner” by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of the mum. The children’s dad Yarden Bibas, 34, was released by Hamas on February 1.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum added it was “horrified and devastated by the news that their mother, Shiri, was not returned—despite the agreement and our desperate hopes”.
