The family of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has confirmed that a body handed over by Hamas on Friday is hers.
“Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home,” the family said in a statement. However, Israel’s forensic officials are still conducting tests to confirm the identification.
On Thursday, Hamas had initially handed over remains it claimed belonged to Shiri Bibas, but Israel later determined they belonged to an unidentified woman.
Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement, Hamas is expected to release six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners.
The Bibas family expressed their grief, stating: “For 16 months, we sought certainty, and now that we have it, there is no comfort in it, but we hope for the beginning of closure.”
Hamas had previously claimed that Shiri and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. However, Israel disputes this, with an IDF spokesperson stating that forensic evidence—shared with international partners—suggests the children were “deliberately” killed in captivity.
Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, where around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—were killed, and 251 taken hostage. Their father, Yarden Bibas, was released by Hamas on February 1.
In response to the attacks, Israel launched a military campaign that has resulted in over 48,319 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
