The body of a woman who was presumed to have been one of four slain hostages murdered in cold blood by Hamas and handed over to Israel this week was allegedly turned over by the terror group on Friday.
Hamas handed over a coffin allegedly carrying the remains of Shiri Bibas to the Red Cross.The coffin was then turned over to Israeli authorities, who will transport it to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.
The development follows Israel’s demand for the return of Bibas’ body after discrepancies were found in a previous transfer on Thursday.
Bibas was initially believed to have been one of four hostages handed over to Israel on Thursday, following confirmation by Hamas. However, Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine could only verify the identities of her two children.
It was discovered that the body in a coffin bearing Shiri Bibas’ name and photo was an unidentified woman, and not the kidnapped mother of two, causing widespread outrage in Israel.
The two children were identified as Ariel and Kfir Bibas, ages four and ten months, who were killed by Hamas terrorists with their bare hands, Israel said. The fourth body was not identified but was believed to be Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was in contact with the Bibas family.
‘For months, we prayed for the Bibas babies to come home. Yesterday, our worst nightmare was confirmed,’ IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said, ‘Kfir and Ariel were murdered in cold blood. The terrorists didn’t shoot them—they killed them with their bare hands. Then, they committed horrific acts to cover up their crimes.’
In response to the findings, the Hostages and Missing Families forum said it was ‘shaken to the core by the horrifying findings.’
‘This barbaric act is yet another undeniable testament to the unfathomable brutality of those who continue to hold our loved ones captive,’ the group said in a statement. ‘The very same hands that slaughtered Ariel and Kfir are the ones keeping our fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in unimaginable conditions.’
‘Today is a tragic day,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday. ‘It’s a day of boundless sorrow, of indescribable pain. Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, his baby brother one-year-old Kfir, and 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz were brutally murdered by Hamas savages.’
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that Hamas ‘continues to violate every basic moral value,’ even after the death of the two children.
‘Instead of returning Shiri, the mother of Kfir and Ariel, Hamas returned an unidentified body, as if it were a worthless shipment. This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,’ he added.
The young boys and their mother were abducted from 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. Netanyahu said that Hamas will pay ‘the full price’ for not following through with returning Shiri Bibas’ body.
‘God will save their blood, and we will take revenge, too,’ he said.
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.