Human remains returned by Hamas to Israel confirmed as those of former hostage Shiri Bibas
Human remains returned to Israel by Hamas on Friday have been confirmed as those of former hostage Shiri Bibas, according to a statement from her family provided Saturday by the hostage relatives’ forum.
Bibas’ remains had been expected to be among those of four hostages returned by Hamas on Thursday, alongside her sons, Kfir and Ariel, and another captive, Oded Lifshitz. The boys were 9 months old and 4 years old, respectively, when they were taken captive.
However, while forensic tests by Israeli authorities confirmed that the remains included those of the two boys and Lifshitz, the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas – and nor did it match that of any other Israeli hostage, prompting outrage and condemnation.
Now, her body has been returned to Israel, according to the forum.
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“Last night, our Shiri was brought home. After the identification process at the Institute for Forensic Medicine, we received the news this morning that we had feared: our Shiri was murdered in captivity,” the statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, quoting the Bibas family.
“She has returned home to her sons, her husband, her sister, and all her family to rest,” the statement added.
CNN has contacted the Israeli government for official confirmation of the results of the forensic examination.
Shiri’s husband and the children’s father, Yarden Bibas, was released by Hamas earlier this month after 484 days of captivity.
Opposition party leader Yair Lapid called the return of Bibas’ remains “a long and painful closing of a circle.”
“I share in the pain and sorrow of the family and friends. We so hoped for a different ending,” Lapid said in a post on Telegram.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, the community where Bibas was taken hostage along with her husband and children in the Hamas-led attack of October 7, expressed its “deep sorrow” in a statement Saturday.
“Today, after 16 unbearably difficult months, the painful circle is finally closed for the family, and in the coming days, she will return, together with her two young sons, to eternal rest in the land of Israel,” the statement said.
Earlier Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it received a coffin from Hamas, and transferred a set of human remains to Israeli authorities. Hamas-run Al-Aqsa news reported that the militant group had handed over what it described as Bibas’ body to the Red Cross, citing its leader Mahmoud Mardawi.
A convoy carrying the remains arrived in Tel Aviv for identification on Friday night. As the vehicles arrived at the city’s Abu Kabir Forensics Center, mourners lined the street outside, holding Israeli flags.
Hamas, which says Shiri and the two boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023, said later that her body may have earlier been mixed up with the body of another person killed in the airstrike, and vowed to investigate.
Israel has rejected Hamas’ explanation of how the Bibas family members died. On Friday, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed forensic evidence showed militants had murdered the two boys “with their bare hands.” He did not elaborate on the claim, which Hamas later dismissed as “sheer lies.”
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Hamas releases more hostages in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners as part of ceasefire deal
Fox News national correspondent Jeff Paul reports on the release of the bodies from Hamas’ youngest hostages on ‘Special Report.’
Hamas freed five hostages on Saturday – with a sixth expected later – in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement with Israel.
The first two men released were identified as Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39. Video footage showed the two men looking frail and scared as they were taken to a stage in front of a crowd while flanked by masked gunmen. They were handed over to the Red Cross and were on their way to the IDF.
An additional three hostages – Omer Wenkert, 23; Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Eliya Cohen, 27 – were subsequently released in the central town of Nuseirat. They were dressed in fake army uniforms, though they were not soldiers when they were kidnapped.
The three were put in Red Cross vehicles that then headed for Israel.
Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, is expected to be released later on Saturday.
The Israeli Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement that five hostages had crossed into Israel in two separate trips.
L-R: Omer Shem Tov; Omer Wenkrat; and Avera Mengistu. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
“A short while ago, accompanied by IDF and ISA forces, the two returning hostages crossed the border into Israeli territory, and they are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with members of their families,” the statement said after Shoham and Mengistu were freed earlier on Saturday.
“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, three hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” a later statement said, adding: “The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”
Avera Mengistu reunites with brother and sister after more than 10 years. (IDF)
Two of the hostages — Mengistu and Al-Sayed — are civilians who have been held since entering Gaza on their own more than a decade ago, long before the war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel, which prompted military retaliation from Israeli forces.
Shoham’s family said in a statement that his release from Hamas captivity “is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together.”
“Our Tal is with us. We thank all the people of Israel who stood with us through all the long days of pain and suffering,” the statement said. “During these days, we need privacy for Tal, Adi, and the children. At this crucial moment in our lives, our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will bring fathers back to their children – children need their fathers – and return all hostages home: the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for eternal rest. There is a window of opportunity; we must not miss it.”
L-R: Eliya Cohen; Tal Shoham; and Hisham Al-Sayed. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Mengistu’s family also released a statement saying they have “endured ten years and five months of unimaginable suffering.”
“During this time, there have been continuous efforts to secure his return, with prayers and pleas, some silent, that remained unanswered until today,” the family said. “In these moments, we gather in anxious anticipation of the return of our beloved son, brother, and uncle Avera. We ask that these moments be respected, and that we be granted the peace and rest we so desperately need.”
REMAINS OF SHIRI BIBAS, MOM OF TWO KILLED, ALLEGEDLY RETURNED TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING HAMAS’ BROKEN PROMISE
A boy holds a weapon as he stands next to a Hamas fighter standing in position ahead of handing over four bodies to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)
This comes as the delicate ceasefire deal reached a month ago remains in place despite recent revelations that hostage Shiri Bibas’ body was not initially returned to Israel as promised by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would “pay the full price” for allegedly handing over the body of a Palestinian woman from Gaza instead of the body of the Israeli hostage. The hostage’s sons — Ariel and Kfir Bibas — along with Oded Lifshitz were returned by Hamas on Thursday as expected.
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Red Cross vehicles arrive to collect coffins containing four bodies that were handed over by Hamas militants in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP)
Late Friday, Hamas said it handed over Shiri Bibas’ body to the Red Cross, which confirmed it had received human remains inside Gaza and transferred them to Israeli authorities. Bibas’ family confirmed her identity early Saturday.
Hamas said it “has no interest in withholding any bodies in its possession.” The terror group said the dead hostages handed over on Thursday had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in November 2023 and that the bodies could have been misidentified due to bombardments in the area.
A poster shows Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped to Gaza with her husband and two young sons on Oct. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP)
The terror group also killed Ariel and Kfir Bibas “with their bare hands,” according to the Israeli military, which did not offer evidence to support the claim.
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Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari alleged that forensic analysis of the Bibas boys’ bodies showed that Hamas “did not shoot the boys,” but “killed them with their bare hands” and then “committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.” Hagari said Lifshitz was killed by captors inside Gaza.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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