According to the Israeli army, one of the four bodies delivered this Thursday by Hamas is not, as stated by the Palestinian armed group, that of the Shiri Bibas hostage.
Shiri, 32, was kidnapped with his two children, Ariel and Kfir, 4 years and 9 months of age respectively, during the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people and others died and others and others 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
The news that the three members of this family were dead caused great shock in Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (FDI) informed the Bibas family that the children’s bodies were identified after Hamas gave their remains to Israel.
But the third body was not that of his mother, according to the IDF.
Hamas has not responded to Israel’s statement.
“During the identification process, it was determined that the body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no coincidence was found with any other hostage. It is an anonymous and unidentified body,” said the IDF in a statement in X .
“This is a rape of the greatest gravity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obliged by the agreement to be returned to four dead hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages,” they added.
The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, 34, was released by Hamas on February 1.
Israel confirmed that the fourth body returned on Thursday was that of the veteran peace activist Oded Lifshitz.
The delivery of the bodies of the hostages was agreed in the high -fire agreement that entered into force on January 19. Israel confirmed that there will be eight in total.
The parties also agreed to exchange 33 Israeli hostages for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners during the first six weeks of the fire.
The conversations to move on to the next phase of the agreement, under which the other living hostages would be released and the war would definitely end, they had to start earlier this month, but that has not yet passed.
So far, 28 Israeli hostages have been exchanged for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
Sixty -six hostages captured on October 7 are still held in Gaza. Three others, captured more than a decade ago, are also still retained. It is believed that approximately half of all hostages that are still in Gaza are alive.
Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, in which at least 48,297 Palestinians have died, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health of Gaza, directed by Hamas.
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