Israel demands Hamas return Shiri Bibas’ body, saying the militant group handed over unidentified body

Israel said on Friday, February 21, that one of the bodies returned from Gaza is not that of Shiri Bibas, as claimed by Hamas, and accused Palestinian “terrorists” of killing her two boys who have become symbols of the hostages’ ordeal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of committing a “cruel and evil” violation of the Gaza ceasefire deal by failing to return the body. “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,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on Friday.

Thousands of mourning Israelis had observed a moment of silence Thursday in honor of four dead hostages returned by Hamas, the first handover of bodies under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claimed the remains included those of Bibas and her two young sons, whose father was released by the militant group this month. On Friday, however, Israel said the body purporting to be Shiri Bibas’s did not belong to her and “does not match any other kidnapped individuals”.

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

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres responded to the handing over of bodies on X on Friday: “I condemn the parading of bodies and displaying of the coffins of the deceased Israeli hostages by Hamas on Thursday. Under international law, any handover of the remains of the deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”
Staged handover

Palestinian militants on Thursday staged a ceremony to return the bodies at a former cemetery in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis. Ahead of the handover, Hamas and members of other armed Palestinian groups displayed four black coffins with small photos of the deceased, while mock-up missiles nearby carried the message: “They were killed by USA bombs,” a reference to Israel’s top military supplier.

Flag-waving Israelis had lined the route along which a convoy carrying the returned bodies traveled from southern Israel to Tel Aviv.

During their attack on October 7 2023 that triggered the Gaza war, Hamas filmed and later broadcast footage showing the Bibas family’s abduction from their home near the Gaza border.

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Ariel was then aged four, while Kfir was the youngest hostage at just nine months old. Yarden Bibas, the boys’ father and Shiri’s husband, was abducted separately and released in a previous hostage-prisoner swap on February 1. Hamas has long maintained an Israeli air strike killed the Bibas family early in the war.

The bodies’ repatriation is part of the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on January 19 and so far has led to the release of 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said talks will begin this week on the truce’s second phase, aiming to lay out a more permanent end to the war. A Hamas spokesman on Thursday accused Netanyahu of “procrastinating regarding the second phase”, saying the group was “ready to engage”.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Wednesday that Hamas was ready to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during phase two. Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack. Prior to Thursday’s handover, there were 70 hostages still in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military has said are dead.

Source » lemonde