Family of Israeli hostage confirms Shiri Bibas’ death as Hamas hands over new body
This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Shiri Bibas, who was abducted and taken to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)
The family of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has announced that a body handed over by Hamas on Friday is hers.
“Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home,” the family stated. However, Israeli forensic officials have yet to formally confirm the identification.
On Thursday, Hamas handed over remains it claimed were Bibas’, but Israeli authorities determined they belonged to an unidentified woman.
The new handover comes as six living hostages are set to be released later on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal, in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.
“For 16 months, we sought certainty, and now that we have it, there is no comfort in it, but we hope for the beginning of a closure,” the Bibas family expressed in their statement.
Hamas previously stated that Bibas and her two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike. On Friday, Hamas spokesman Ismail al-Thawabta claimed that Shiri’s remains were mixed with other bodies buried under rubble following the attack.
Israel has disputed these claims. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari asserted that forensic evidence—shared with international partners—suggested the boys were killed “deliberately” rather than in an airstrike.
Shiri Bibas, 32, and her sons Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, were kidnapped during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Her husband, Yarden Bibas, 34, was taken hostage but was released alive on February 1.
The October 7 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 251 others into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a large-scale military campaign that has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians, mainly women and children.
