Report: Remains Suspected to be Shiri Bibas, Mother of Slain Children, Returned to Israel After Hamas’ Alleged Deception
The remains of a woman, believed to be Shiri Bibas, one of four hostages allegedly murdered by Hamas, were reportedly transferred to Israel by the terror group on Friday. This follows a previous, disputed transfer.
Hamas reportedly gave a coffin, said to contain Shiri Bibas’s remains, to the Red Cross, who then passed it on to Israeli authorities. The remains are to be taken to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.
This development occurred after Israel requested the return of Bibas’s body due to inconsistencies found in a transfer that took place on Thursday.
Bibas was initially thought to be among four hostages handed over to Israel on Thursday, following confirmation from Hamas. However, Israeli authorities could only confirm the identities of her two children.
The body in a coffin labeled with Shiri Bibas’s name and photo was found to be that of an unidentified woman, sparking outrage in Israel.
The two children, Ariel, four, and Kfir Bibas, ten months old, were reportedly killed by Hamas terrorists, according to Israel. The fourth body was not identified but is believed to be Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated they are in communication with the Bibas family.
“For months, we prayed for the Bibas babies to come home. Yesterday, our worst nightmare was confirmed,” said IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. “Kfir and Ariel were murdered in cold blood. The terrorists didn’t shoot them—they killed them with their bare hands. Then, they committed horrific acts to cover up their crimes.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was “shaken to the core by the horrifying findings.”
“This barbaric act is yet another undeniable testament to the unfathomable brutality of those who continue to hold our loved ones captive,” the group stated. “The very same hands that slaughtered Ariel and Kfir are the ones keeping our fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in unimaginable conditions.”
“Today is a tragic day,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. “It’s a day of boundless sorrow, of indescribable pain. Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, his baby brother one-year-old Kfir, and 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz were brutally murdered by Hamas savages.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated that Hamas “continues to violate every basic moral value,” even after the death of the two children.
“Instead of returning Shiri, the mother of Kfir and Ariel, Hamas returned an unidentified body, as if it were a worthless shipment. This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,” he added.
The young boys and their mother were abducted from their home by Hamas during the terror group’s deadly attack. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, was abducted while trying to protect them, prior to the kidnapping of his wife and children, the IDF said.
Yarden returned as part of the hostage release agreement on Feb. 1. Netanyahu vowed that Hamas will pay “the full price” for failing to return Shiri Bibas’s body.
“God will save their blood, and we will take revenge, too,” he said.
‘ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.