HAMAS has handed over the body of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas, it claims, after it sent the wrong remains in a sick mix-up.
It’s the second attempt at returning the hostage for the terror group after it claimed to have handed over the mum with her two children on Thursday.
The Red Cross collected a body from the Gaza Strip that Hamas claim is Shiri, two officials have told The Times of Israel.
The remains have been passed to the IDF who will take them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification.
According to senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardwai, he stated on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television that this particular body is indeed the correct one, making a rather embarrassing statement for the terror group.
It’s the second attempt Hamas have had at handing over Shiri’s body after it returned the bodies of Shiri’s 9-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Arie.
Hours after the initial twisted handover ceremony on Thursday, the IDF announced they couldn’t identify the body as Shiri’s.
In turn, Hamas said it was investigating a “mistake” in identifying the human remains.
Hamas senior official Ismail al-Thawabteh alleged that Shiri’s body was fragmented in an Israeli airstrike – a claim vehemently denied by Israel, stating it never occurred – and suggested it might have been commingled with other bodies beneath the debris.
A statement by Hamas said the group was dealing with the claims with “complete seriousness” and it would announce the results “clearly”.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, acknowledged “regrettable errors” while emphasizing that Hamas is not interested in retaining any bodies or violating the terms of signed agreements.
They claimed that the casket which Hamas said belonged to the mum actually contained “an anonymous, unidentified” person with “no match” found for any other hostage.
The harrowing statement from the IDF added that it was a “violation of utmost severity” by Hamas.
They demanded the terror group “return Shiri home along with all our hostages” immediately.
The heinous move by the terror group to allegedly lie about the handover has been widely condemned.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as an “unspeakable” act which shows “the cruelty of the Hamas monsters know no bounds”.
He added in a video statement: “We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement.”
Netanyahu also claimed the body handed over at the twisted parade on Thursday morning belonged to an unknown Gazan woman.
Hamas reportedly attempted to explain their way out of the fury by claiming the remains belonged to the mum as well as a mixture of other human remnants.
A Hamas official told AFP they are investigating the “mistake”.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon quickly slammed the Palestinian militants as he said they treated the coffin like a “worthless shipment”.
“This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,” he said in a statement.
“There are no words that can describe such an atrocity.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the killing of the two children, which Hamas denies, and the failure to return Shiri’s body was “sick”.
“The vile killing of the Bibas children by Hamas terrorists is sick and abhorrent, as is the failure to return the body of their mother Shiri to the grieving family,” the Foreign Secretary posted on X.
“Her body must be returned. The hostages must be released. This nightmare must end.”
US president Donald Trump’s envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, said the stunt now puts the ceasefire deal into serious jeopardy.
He warned Hamas must release all the remaining hostages or face “total annihilation”.
Shiri’s despairing face as she was kidnapped while clutching her two children became a symbol for the horror of the October 7 massacre.
They’ll regret it
By Nick Parker, Foreign Editor
WHAT are the cornered Hamas rats thinking when they line up the coffins of murdered children in front of a picture of Benjamin Netanyahu as a blood-soaked vampire?
Do they really think stunts like this will garner more support from their deluded followers, who believe Israel is the epitome of all evil?
Do they think twisting the knife in the open wounds of an Israeli public struggling to contain its grief will weaken their enemy?
On both counts they are wrong and the more they bait and wind up Israel, the more they will come to regret it in the fullness of time.
Hamas and its death cult ideology is a spent force and making Israelis weep with anger may be its only remaining weapon — and one which will soon by turned against them.
The gamechanger in the Middle East is US President Donald Trump. He is 200 per cent on Israel’s side.
Israelis mourning the deaths of children, their mother and a peace campaigner should at least take comfort — evil Hamas will not be allowed to run Gaza much longer.
The IDF say they have managed to identify the bodies of Shiri’s young sons, Ariel and Kfir as well as retired Israeli journalist Oded Lifshitz.
The apparent causes of the deaths were also revealed.
According to the IDF, citing intelligence and forensic findings, the two little boys were “brutally murdered” by the Hamas thugs in November 2023.
So was Lifshitz who had originally been kidnapped alongside his wife.
Baby Kfir – the youngest captive – was only nine months old when he was barbarically forced to spend the majority of his life as a Hamas prisoner.
Israel say he likely died when he was only 11 months old.
The official flag of Israel has been turned orange on social media in honour of the brothers due to their ginger hair.
The IDF confirmed that while Hamas’ violation would be “dealt with severely,” Saturday’s prisoner swap is expected to go ahead as planned.
At least 66 hostages still remain captive in Gaza over 500 days on from the initial bloodshed with those who died in captivity finally being returned to their loved ones.
Only half are believed to be still alive, Israel fears.
A top Hamas official said another six living hostages will be freed on Saturday before another set of bodies are returned.
The six are said to be the last living hostages Hamas will release during the first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement.
They are Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
