The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) today said that one of the bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any of the hostages held in Gaza. The IDF said that one of the four bodies returned from Gaza was not that of hostage Shiri Bibas, contradicting claims made by the terrorist group Hamas. The IDF further accused Hamas of violating an already shaking ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the body released by Hamas militants was that of a Gazan woman, not Shiri Bibas. In a statement released today, Netanyahu criticised the handover of the wrong remains as a cruel and malicious violation of the ceasefire agreement and said Hamas would pay the full price for the action.
According to the IDF, the remains of Bibas’ two sons, infant Kfir Bibas and four-year-old Ariel Bibas, were identified. However, the fourth body did not belong to their mother or any other known Israeli hostage, and its identity remains unknown.
Yesterday, Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages to Israel, sparking national mourning. The remains of two children, their mother, and a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, were handed over as part of last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal, supported by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. People lined highways to pay their respects as a convoy carried the coffins, and thousands gathered in Tel Aviv for a nighttime vigil.
