Shiri Bibas, the mother of Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, was not among the four hostages killed and returned by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

By Alain SAYADA Journalist for Israel Actualités Digital

Published February 21, 2025 06:22

Hamas hands over bodies of four slain Israeli hostages

The mother of two young boys murdered by Hamas terrorists while in captivity was not among the bodies returned to Israel on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Before the return of the bodies of the four slain hostages, Hamas had announced that the bodies would include those of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, aged 4 and 10 months, as well as Oded Lifshitz, a retired journalist and activist. However,  Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine  was able to determine the identities of only two of the bodies, those of the two young boys.

From left to right: Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas and Oded Lifshitz. (Hostages’ Family Forum via AP)

« During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received was not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found with any other hostage, » the Israeli military said. « This is an unmarked and unidentified body. »

“According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and the forensic findings of the identification process,  Ariel and Kfir Bibas  were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” the authorities said.

The family has become a symbol of the ordeal that has struck Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.

« We extend our sincere condolences to the Bibas family during this incredibly difficult time and remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure that Shiri and all hostages are returned home as soon as possible, » the Israeli military said.

He called the deaths a « violation of the highest gravity » by Hamas, while demanding that the terrorist group return the bodies of Shiri Bibas and all other hostages held captive.

Shiri Bibas and her children, Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas. Of the four bodies returned to Israel by Hamas on Thursday, two have been identified as those of the two young children. A third was initially believed to be that of their mother, but that is not the case, the Israel Defense Forces said. (Courtesy of the Hostages Families Forum)

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Hamas continues to « violate every fundamental moral value » even after the boys’ deaths.

« Instead of returning Shiri, the mother of Kfir and Ariel, Hamas sent back an unidentified body, as if it were worthless cargo, » he wrote on X. « This is a new abomination, an evil and cruelty without equal. »

He added that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly continue to remain silent in the face of Hamas’ « barbarity » and have demanded that Hamas return Shiri Bibas’ body.

« History will remember well those who stood by and stood silently while Hamas trampled on the most basic principles of humanity, » Danon wrote.

The young boys and their mother were abducted from their home by Hamas terrorists during the  terror group’s deadly attack on October 7, 2023.  Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, tried to protect them and was kidnapped before his wife and children were abducted, the Israeli military said.

Yarden returned as part of the deal to return the hostages on February 1.

Thursday’s release is the first involving the transfer of hostages killed since  the ceasefire agreement took effect  last month.

Hamas activists take photos as other masked Palestinian fighters carry one of the coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on Thursday. Hamas handed over coffins on February 20 believed to contain the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including those of the Bibas family, who have become symbols of Israel’s ordeal since the start of the Gaza war. The transfer of the bodies is the first by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war, and comes amid a fragile ceasefire that has seen live hostages exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. (EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)

About 70 hostages are still being held by Hamas. Almost all of the remaining hostages, including the Israeli soldiers, are men and about half are believed to be dead.

Alain SAYADA is a journalist for Israel Actualités Digital