Hamas Claims Shiri Bibas’ Remains Were ‘Mixed Up’ with Another Woman Who was Buried Next to Her as Netanyahu Issues Chilling Threat

Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to make Hamas “pay the full price” after the group failed to return Shiri Bibas’ body, calling it a “cruel and evil” breach of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Hamas has given a horrific explanation for why it handed over an unidentified body instead of the Israeli hostage.

The group claims that Shiri’s remains were likely mixed with those of another woman who was buried nearby in the rubble after an alleged Israeli airstrike struck the location where she was being held. Meanwhile, the Bibas family has accused Netanyahu of failing to protect their loved ones during Hamas’ 2023 attack and of not securing their return home.

Netanyahu’s Chilling Threat

“Not only did they abduct the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two small infants in an unimaginably cynical manner, but they also failed to return Shiri to her small children, the little angels, and instead placed the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin,” Netanyahu said Friday.

“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home, along with all of our captives – both the living and the fallen – and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” he added.

However, the Bibas family is now blaming Netanyahu for failing to protect their family members.

The aunt of Ariel and Kfir and sister of their father, Yarden, Ofri Bibas released a statement expressing her grief and anger. She said, “There is no forgiveness for abandoning them on October 7, and no forgiveness for abandoning them in captivity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we did not receive an apology from you in this painful moment.”

She added that the family is still awaiting confirmation of the fate of her sister-in-law, Shiri Bibas, and emphasized that they are “not seeking revenge right now.”

On Thursday, Hamas handed over the remains of four people it claimed were hostages, marking the first such transfer under the already shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to Hamas, the remains included those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, whose father had been released earlier this month.

The fourth set of remains was identified as 83-year-old Oded Lifschitz, a journalist with ties to the UK.

Inhuman and Disgraceful

This came as the Israeli military said on Friday that Ariel and Kfir Bibas were ‘brutally murdered’ while in captivity in November 2023, based on forensic examinations of their remains. At the time of their deaths, the boys would have been 4 years old and 10 months old, respectively. The boys were reportedly killed with bare hands.

Shiri’s remains were expected to be part of the exchange deal, a condition the Israeli Defense Forces now claim has been breached. The body placed in the casket bearing Shiri’s photo is an “anonymous, unidentified body” and, according to the military, does not belong to any other hostage.

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” the IDF said. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee announced on Telegram that Israel had identified the remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, accusing “Palestinian terrorists” of killing them in November 2023.

Hamas has repeatedly claimed that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for the deaths of the boys and their mother early in the war.

During the October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the Gaza conflict, Hamas recorded and later released footage showing the Bibas family being taken from their home near the Gaza border.

At the time, Ariel was four years old, and Kfir, just nine months old, was the youngest hostage. Their father, Yarden Bibas, was kidnapped separately and later freed on February 1 as part of a previous hostage-prisoner exchange.

In a statement, Hamas claimed that both the group and its armed wing had “everything in their power to protect the prisoners (hostages) and preserve their lives.”

The return of the bodies is part of the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which began on January 19. So far, the agreement has resulted in the release of 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for over 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.