Although Hamas claimed that the four bodies released to Israel on Thursday included Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, an Israeli forensics team announced late Thursday evening that the body believed to be Shiri’s was not, in fact, Shiri Bibas.
Specialists at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute determined that Ariel and Kfir were “brutally murdered by terrorists” in November 2023 and that “the additional body received” was not Shiri’s. The specialist confirmed the identities of Ariel, Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist.
“No match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body,” Israel Defense Forces said. “This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”
On Thursday, Hamas terrorists created a deranged public spectacle to mark the release of the four bodies in the first transfer of dead hostages since the cease-fire deal with Hamas went into effect last month.
The transfer occurred in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where their remains in four coffins were handed over to the Red Cross. Hamas set up a stage with a backdrop calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and accusing the Israeli military of killing the Bibas family. The propaganda depicted Netanyahu as a vampire looming over the four dead hostages.
In 2023, the Palestinian terrorist group falsely claimed that Shiri Bibas and her two toddlers were killed by Israeli missiles.
“As the bodies of four Israeli hostages are transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, hundreds of ‘innocent Gazans’ dance to music, and happily film this tragic event,” the Israeli government’s press office posted on X. “Speechless doesn’t begin to describe how this makes us feel.”
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service later retrieved the bodies and discovered that the coffins were locked without a key to open them. The coffins were searched for explosives, according to the Times of Israel. IDF soldiers saluted the deceased hostages with Israeli flags draped over their new coffins upon their return to Israel.
“Agony. Pain. There are no words. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on social media. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely. May their memory be a blessing.”
When they were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, Shiri was 32, Ariel was 4, and Kfir was 9 months old. Yarden Bibas, the husband and father, survived in Hamas custody and was eventually released on February 1. Yarden, 35, was held in a different region of Gaza than his family.
Lifshitz was 83 years old at the time of his abduction. Israel said today that he was murdered in captivity. His then-85-year-old wife, Yocheved, was released on October 23, 2023, two weeks after Hamas massacred some 1,200 Israeli citizens and kidnapped about 250 people.
The three identified deceased hostages were taken from their homes in kibbutz Nir Oz.
The next transfer is set to occur on Saturday when Hamas will release an additional six hostages, all of whom are believed to be alive. They are the last living hostages set to be freed under the cease-fire deal’s first phase, which lasts six weeks. The agreement began January 19 and will end March 2.
An estimated 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. About half are presumed dead.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following the news that Hamas did not release Shiri’s body that the terrorist organization should be “eradicated.”
“On October 7, 2023, terrorists in Gaza abducted a mother, her child, her infant son, and an 83 year old man and murdered them,” he said. “More than 500 days later, Hamas returned them to Israel in coffins. We extend our deepest sympathies for the victims’ families who have suffered the unimaginable. Hamas is evil — pure evil — and must be eradicated. ALL hostages must come home NOW.”