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The Palestinian militant group had previously handed over the wrong remains to Israel
The family of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas says it has identified the woman’s remains after Hamas initially handed over the wrong body earlier this week. In a statement released on Saturday, her relatives claimed that Bibas had been “murdered in captivity”.
On Thursday, as part of ongoing exchanges under a volatile ceasefire agreement, Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages, including Bibas’ two young sons, Ariel and Kfir. However, the body believed to be that of Shiri Bibas was later identified as that of an unidentified Palestinian woman, leading to outrage in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident, describing it as a “cruel and evil violation” of the ceasefire agreement and warned that Hamas would pay “the full price” for failing to bring Babas’ body home.
Hamas acknowledged the mistake, admitting “the possibility of an error or mix-up of bodies” in the rubble after the place she was being held was hit in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas stressed that it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and pledged to rectify the mistake.
On Friday, the Associated Press reported that the Palestinian group handed over The woman’s remains to the Red Cross which forwarded it to Israeli authorities. In a statement released on Saturday morning, Bibas’ family confirmed the handover, stating that “Last night, our Shiri was returned home.”
“Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received this morning the news we had dreaded – our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest,” the family said.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated in October 2023, after the Palestinian militants attacked Israeli territories near Gaza, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 more hostage. Since then, Israel has waged a large-scale campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which has resulted in nearly 47,000 casualties, according to the enclave’s health authorities.
Thursday’s release marked the first time Hamas had returned bodies to Israel since the Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced last month. The overall framework of the deal involves the release of 33 Israeli hostages and about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas is expected to release six Israeli hostages this weekend, which would complete the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement. Next week, Hamas is expected to release the remains of four more hostages.
