The mother of two young boys who were tragically killed by Hamas while being held captive was not included in the bodies brought back to Israel on Thursday, with the terrorist organization stating that there may have been a mistake.
Reports claim that Hamas officials announced on Friday that the body of Israeli captive Shiri Bibas had been “shattered into pieces, potentially mixed with other bodies amidst the destruction” caused by an Israeli air strike on the location where she was being held.
The bodies of Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz were finally returned to Israel after more than 500 days of being held captive, as confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Bibas family, from left: Yarden, Ariel, Shiri, and Kfir (Ofri Bibas Levy)
“During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage,” the IDF said. “This is an anonymous, unidentified body.”
Kfir Bibas, left, and Ofri Bibas Levy, right, smile together beneath a tree.
“According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” authorities said.
The Red Cross, which handled the transfer on Thursday, said it was “concerned and unsatisfied” by the way Hamas hostage release operations have taken place.
“The ICRC does not participate in sorting, screening, or examining the deceased – this is the responsibility of the parties to the conflict”, it said in a statement on Friday, while expressing concern that the releases had not been conducted privately and in a dignified manner.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano , Elizabeth Pritchett, Bradford Betz and Rachel Wolf and Reuters contributed to this report.
