Israeli leaders expressed outrage about the “cruelty of the Hamas monsters” after the terrorist group handed over the anonymous body of a Palestinian woman during a recent prisoner exchange instead of the promised remains of Shiri Bibas, a dead Jewish hostage.
In accordance with a six-week ceasefire deal reached in January, Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday. While identities of the elderly Oded Lifschitz and two young children, Airel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, were confirmed, the supposed remains of their mother, Shiri Bibas, were determined by Israeli officials to be, in fact, the body of an unrelated Gazan woman.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would pay “the full price” for violating the terms of the ceasefire in a statement Friday.
“The cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows no bounds. Not only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two small babies. In an unspeakably cynical manner, they did not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin,” the Israeli leader said.
“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages, both living and dead, and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” he continued.
The two Bibas children were the youngest taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. They were murdered during their time in captivity by Hamas soldiers who “did not shoot the two young boys—they killed them with their bare hands,” per the Israel Defense Forces. Their mother, Yarden, also died during her time in captivity. The children’s father was also kidnapped during the attack but was freed earlier this month during another hostage exchange.
Shortly after Hamas released the bodies of the Bibas family during a shocking and staged ceremony for national television on Thursday, the IDF announced the body believed to be Shiri Bibas was an “anonymous, unidentified body.” The body’s DNA didn’t match that of any of the hostages, the IDF confirmed.
“During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage,” the Israeli military said. “This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”
The news confirmed the worst fears of the surviving Bibas family, who had requested late Wednesday for the public to refrain from eulogizing their loved ones until forensic identification of the bodies was completed.
Hamas’ abduction of the Bibas family over two years sparked particular outrage in Israel as videos of terrorists kidnapping Shiri and her two boys went viral.
Videos of Hamas releasing the children’s coffins and the supposed body of their mother this week likewise attracted visceral responses from Jews, who decried the act as a “grotesque spectacle” and slammed Gazan spectators for cheering the display.
Hamas painted the coffins black and showed a superimposed image of Netanyahu as a vampire on the wall behind them before passing the bodies to Red Cross workers, who then draped the coffins with white cloth.
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In a statement Friday, Hamas called on Israel to return the body of the Gazan woman it had handed over to the Israelis as Shiri Bibas.
“We point out the possibility of an error or overlap in the bodies, which may be the result of the occupation targeting and bombing the place where the family was with other Palestinians,” Hamas said.