The militant group has released the remains of an infant and his brother, but Israel says a third body is not their mother’s
Israel has accused Hamas of releasing an “unidentified body” instead of the remains of a mother who died in captivity in Gaza alongside her two young children. According to the Jewish state’s military, the body of Shiri Bibas was not handed over alongside those of her sons Kfir and Ariel.
Hamas released four bodies on Thursday that it claimed were hostages, including the remains of Shiri and her sons. The fourth body released as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement was that of hostage Oded Lifshitz, 83, whose family confirmed that his remains had been identified.
However, while an Israeli forensic analysis confirmed the identities of the two children, Kfir and Ariel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the third body received was not that of their mother, Shiri.
“No match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Israeli military described the situation as a “violation of utmost severity” by Hamas, accusing the militant group of failing to fulfill its obligation to return all four deceased hostages. It also demanded the immediate return of Shiri Bibas’s body, along with all remaining hostages.
According to the IDF, the Bibas boys were “brutally murdered” in captivity in November 2023. At the time of his death, Ariel was four years old, while his brother, Kfir, was just ten months old. They were taken along with their mother, Shiri, from their home in Nir Oz. Their father, Yarden Bibas, was abducted earlier after attempting to protect his family. He was later released on February 1, 2025, as part of a hostage return agreement.
On Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement declaring that Hamas had transferred the body of “a Gazan woman,” describing it as a violation of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Thursday’s release marks the first time Hamas has returned bodies to Israel since the Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced in January. The overall framework of the deal involves the release of 33 Israeli hostages and about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas is expected to release six Israeli hostages this weekend, which would complete the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement. Next Thursday, Hamas is expected to release four additional bodies of hostages.
Hamas released three hostages last week, including a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, Aleksander Trufanov, who was abducted along with other hostages during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people. Some 250 people were taken hostage. In the past 15 months, nearly 47,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the enclave’s health authorities.
