Feb 21, (BBC/GNA) – Israel’s announcement that a body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of Shiri Bibas, as Hamas had said, throws up another stumbling block in this ceasefire deal.
It was thought the remains of Shiri, a mother of two, had been handed over along with those of her children.
But the Israeli military said forensic testing could only confirm the bodies of Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, and not those of their mother.
Instead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had “put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin”, with Ismail al-Thawabta, a spokesman for Hamas, suggesting Shiri’s remains had been mixed up with other bodies under rubble after an Israeli air strike.
In a separate statement, the group said it affirmed its “seriousness and full commitment to all our obligations” under the ceasefire – and that it had “no interest in non-compliance”.
It also said an investigation was under way, and called for the remains of the alleged Palestinian woman mistakenly handed over to Israel to be returned.
The Bibas family were among 251 people taken hostage during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, along with Shiri’s husband, Yarden, who was released earlier this month.
Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Ariel and Kfir, the youngest of the Israeli hostages, were aged four and nine months when they were kidnapped. Their mother was 32.
Netanyahu has threatened that Hamas will pay the “full price” for failing to hand over Shiri’s body, calling it a “cruel and evil violation” of their agreement.
No measures have yet been announced beyond Netanyahu saying Israel will act “with determination to bring Shiri home”.
But a further claim from Israel that Ariel and Kfir had been “murdered by terrorists in cold blood” will further inflame feelings in Israel.
GNA/BBC