The mother of two young boys murdered by Hamas terrorists while in captivity was not among the bodies returned to Israel on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Before the return of the remains of the four slain hostages, Hamas said the bodies would include Shiri Bibas and her two toddlers, Ariel and Kfir, ages 4 and 10 months, as well as Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist. However, Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine could only determine the identity of two of the bodies, the young boys.
FATHER OF HAMAS’ YOUNGEST HOSTAGES IS RELEASED — BUT HIS FAMILY REMAINS IN HAMAS CAPTIVITY
L-R: Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)
“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,” the IDF said. “This is an anonymous, unidentified body.”
“According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” authorities said.
The family became symbols of the ordeal that has gripped Israel since the war in Gaza began.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bibas family during this incredibly difficult time and remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure Shiri and all the hostages are brought home at the earliest opportunity,” the IDF said.
It called the deaths a “violation of utmost severity” by Hamas, while also demanding the terror group return the body of Shiri Bibas and all other hostages being held captive.
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Shiri Bibas and her children, Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas. Of the four bodies returned to Israel by Hamas on Thursday, two were identified as the two young children. A third was initially presumed to be their mother, but was not, the Israel Defense Forces said. (Courtesy, Hostages Families Forum)
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Hamas continues to “violate every basic moral value,” even after the death of the boys.
“Instead of returning Shiri, the mother of Kfir and Ariel, Hamas returned an unidentified body, as if it were a worthless shipment,” he wrote on X. “This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel.”
He further said that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN the Security Council and the General Assembly continue to remain silent in the face of Hamas’ “barbarity” and demanded Hamas to return the body of Shiri Bibas.
“History will remember well who stood by and remained silent while Hamas trampled on the most basic principles of humanity,” Danon wrote.
The young boys and their mother were abducted in their home by Hamas terrorists during the terror group’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, tried to protect them and was abducted prior to the kidnapping of his wife and children, the IDF said.
Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on Feb. 1.
Thursday’s release is the first one involving the transfer of slain hostages since the ceasefire deal went into effect last month.
Hamas militants take pictures as fellow masked Palestinian fighters carry one of the coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in Thursday. Hamas handed over on February 20 coffins believed to contain the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including those of the Bibas family who became symbols of the ordeal that has gripped Israel since the Gaza war began. The transfer of the bodies is the first by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war, and is taking place under a fragile ceasefire that has seen living hostages exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. (EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
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About 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody. Nearly all the remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, are men and about half are believed to be dead.
