Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of hostage Shiri Bibas
Israel claims to have been able to establish the identity of the Bibas family's two children of Argentine and Peruvian descent, Ariel and Kfir, aged 4 years and 9 months. However, the remains that Hamas claims belonged to Shiri Liberman, the children's mother, do not match those of the woman, according to scientific analysis.
The Israel Defense Forces say one of four bodies handed over by Hamas on Thursday does not match the identity provided by the Islamist group, according to a forensic report released early this morning.
The forensic report indicates that the identity of the two children of the Bibas family of Argentine and Peruvian descent, Ariel and Kfir, aged 4 years and nine months, has been established. However, the remains that Hamas claims were those of Shiri Liberman, the children's mother, do not match the woman, according to scientific analysis.
"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police, IDF representatives informed the Bibas family that their loved ones, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, have been identified," the IDF report said.
"During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas and no match was found with any other hostages. "This is an anonymous and unidentified body," the statement added.
The IDF says this represents "a most serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages." "We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages," the statement added. In addition to the Bibas family members, the body of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 years old when he was taken hostage in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, was also handed over on Thursday.
In the case of Lifshitz, his family has confirmed that the remains returned do indeed belong to that person. "We received with deep pain the official and bitter news confirming the identification of the body of our beloved Oded. 503 days of agony and uncertainty have come to an end. We had hoped and prayed hard for a different outcome," the family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Hamas handed over the bodies at a ceremony in southern Gaza, where Palestinian militants placed four coffins, each bearing the name of a hostage, on a stage with a sign reading "War criminal (Benjamin) Netanyahu and his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist planes" next to a caricatured image of the Israeli prime minister with fangs and blood stains.
