Body returned from Gaza is not Shiri Bibas, Israeli military says

Israel has accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire agreement after forensic testing confirmed that the body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not Shiri Bibas. The other three bodies handed over have been identified as her sons, Ariel and Kfir, aged five and two, as well as peace activist Oded Lifschitz, 84, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). However, the fourth body was neither Shiri nor another hostage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hamas had "placed the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin."

A Hamas spokesperson, Ismail al-Thwabta, responded on X on Friday, explaining that Shiri’s remains likely got mixed up with other bodies under the rubble of a structure hit by an Israeli airstrike.

The group told Reuters news agency they would investigate what had led to the wrong remains being sent to Israel.

They also reiterated their previous statement which said the children and their mother were killed in an Israeli bombing.

However, Israel on Thursday said the boys "were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023", according to intelligence and forensics.

Israel demanded that Hamas return Shiri along with the other remaining hostages.

"Whether she is alive or not, they need to bring back Shiri Bibas," IDF international spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

Netanyahu said "we will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement".

The IDF posted on X that "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. This is an anonymous, unidentified body."

"This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages."

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was "horrified and devastated by the news that their mother, Shiri, was not returned—despite the agreement and our desperate hopes".

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. They have become a symbol for many in Israel and news of their deaths was met with an outpouring of grief.

The children's father Yarden Bibas, 34, was released by Hamas on 1 February.

Israel has confirmed that the fourth body returned on Thursday was that of veteran peace activist, Oded Lifschitz.

The release of hostages' bodies was part of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19, with Israel confirming the expectation of eight bodies being handed over. The agreement also included an exchange of 33 hostages for approximately 1,900 prisoners by the end of the first six weeks.

Discussions for the next phase of the deal, which would involve the release of the remaining living hostages and the permanent end of the war, were scheduled to begin earlier this month but have yet to start.

So far, 28 hostages and over 1,000 prisoners have been exchanged. Sixty-six hostages taken on October 7 remain in Gaza, alongside three others captured more than a decade ago. It is believed that about half of the hostages still in Gaza are alive.

The Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. In retaliation, Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Hamas, resulting in at least 48,297 Palestinian deaths, primarily civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Additionally, on Thursday, three buses exploded in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, in what Israeli police suspect to be a terror attack. Devices on two other buses failed to detonate. No casualties were reported, and police are searching for suspects. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that he had ordered the IDF to conduct an "intensive operation against centers of terrorism" in the West Bank.