Israel says returned body is not Bibas mother, accuses 'terrorists' of killing sons

Agence France-Presse·21 February 2025, 9:39 am·1 min read

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Israel says returned body is not Bibas mother, accuses 'terrorists' of killing sons — People carry a placard bearing the pictures of Oded Lifshitz and members of the Bibas family, hours after the Palestinian group Hamas handed over the bodies of who it said were those of the four hostages, on 20 February 20, 2025. A minute of silence took place at the start of a rally in solidarity with the families of the dead hostages, who Hamas say include three members of the Bibas family, who have become symbols of the hostage crisis that has gripped Israel since the Gaza war broke out.

Israel said Friday that one of the four bodies returned from Gaza is not hostage Shiri Bibas, as Hamas had claimed, accusing Palestinian "terrorists" of killing her two young sons.

The Israeli military confirmed it had identified the remains of Ariel and Kfir, Shiri's two sons, who were handed over by the militant group as part of a hostage-prisoner swap.

"During the diagnostic process, it was found that the other body handed over does not belong to Shiri Bibas and does not match any other kidnapped individuals," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram.

"We demand Hamas return Shiri Bibas along with all the abductees," he added.

Adraee stated that Israel had concluded her two sons were killed by Palestinian "terrorists" in Gaza, contradicting Hamas's claim that they died in an Israeli airstrike early in the war.

"According to the assessment of the relevant authorities and based on available intelligence and diagnostic indicators, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally killed in captivity in November 2023 by Palestinian terrorists," Adraee said.

On Thursday, Hamas handed over what it claimed were the remains of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas, who had become symbols of the hostages' ordeal since their abduction on 7 October 2023.

Hamas also returned the body of a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, a veteran journalist and longtime defender of Palestinian rights.

This marked the first handover of Israeli bodies under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.