by Mick the Ram

Hamas has been told it will pay the “full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement” by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after it emerged a body in a coffin handed over as part of the release deal was NOT that of an Israeli hostage.

The body of Shiri Bibas was supposed to be returned on Thursday 20 February along with the bodies of her two young children – Ariel and Kfir – who Hamas had claimed were all killed in an Israeli air-strike.

The body of a fourth hostage, 83-year-old Oded Lifschitz was also handed over. All four were seized from Nir Oz on 7 October 2023.

Not only were the remains in the coffin proved to be those of an unknown Gazan woman, but also forensic tests revealed that the two boys had actually been brutally murdered.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) called it a “very serious violation” by Hamas who had once again adopted a theatrical handover, with little dignity displayed.

Hamas claim that Sheri’s remains had been mixed with other human remains from the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the place where she was being held, but serious doubts have been raised as to the validity of that assertion.

Bodies were part of the agreement

The release of hostages’ bodies was agreed as part of the ceasefire deal which came into effect on 19 January and Israel has confirmed it expects a total of eight bodies to be handed over in the first phase.

The two sides had agreed to exchange 33 hostages for around 1,900 prisoners by the end of the first six weeks of the ceasefire.

No forensic match

There was widespread grief when the coffins came back into Israel, but with it a sense of relief at least to have the bodies back.

Therefore, with the news that during the identification process, it was determined that the body supposed to be that of Shiri Bibas did not match forensically and there was no match found for any other hostage either, there was a new level of anger.

The announcement by the IDF that it was an “anonymous, unidentified body” fuelled that anger and there were furious demands for the return of Sheri, with the IDF remarking: “This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages.”

Brutally killed

Shiri was aged 32 when she was kidnapped, during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, along with her two young boys, who were just four-years-old and eight-month-old at the time (the youngest of the 251 hostages taken).

They became a symbol for many in Israel and news of their deaths was met with an outpouring of grief. That grief will turn to rage with the news that Sheri has not been returned as agreed and according to the assessment of professional officials and based on the intelligence made available, the forensic findings from the identification process shows that Ariel and Kfir Bibas – two innocent little children – were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023, just a month after their abduction.

Hamas has previously claimed that Shiri and the two boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike, though never presented any evidence.

Children were symbols of the attack

A video of the Bibas family’s abduction became one of the symbols of the brutality of the October 7 terror attack. It showed a terrified Shiri clinging tightly to her children wrapped in a blanket.

Following their kidnap a photo of Kfir holding a pink elephant toy and looking directly at the camera with a toothless smile has been featured in numerous campaigns and protests around the world.

The children’s 34-year-old father Yarden Bibas, was also taken at the same time, but he was released by Hamas during the 1 February handover.

PM speaks of unspeakable cynicism

An outraged Mr Netanyahu said: “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, but 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.”

“New low with no parallel”

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, called on the UN to condemn “Hamas’ barbarity” and make an immediate demand for the return of Shiri to her family.

He said: “There are no words that can describe such an atrocity, Hamas not only murdered Ariel and Kfir Bibas in cold blood, but continues to violate every basic moral value even after their death.”

He called the return of an unidentified body instead of Sheri “a new low and evil and cruelty with no parallel.”

Total annihilation coming?

The failure to return Shiri’s remains also prompted a senior US official – Adam Boehler, the United States envoy for hostage affairs – to warn that Hamas must return her body and all the remaining hostages held in Gaza, or “face total annihilation.”

Hamas official Ismail al-Thawabteh claims that Shiri’s body “was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble” and reiterating the claim that Israel was behind her death.

Activist was returned

Israel did confirm that the fourth body returned on 20 February was indeed that of veteran peace activist, Oded Lifshitz.

His son, Yizhar, said that he had always feared for his 84-year-old father’s health, since his violent abduction in October 2023. He and his wife, Yocheved, had been snatched and taken to Khan Younis in Gaza, where they were separated, never to see each other again.

Yizhar said his father, who was a noted journalist and peace activist, had long had a vision about how to resolve the conflicts of the Middle East, but sadly never got the chance to see it through.

Threat to next phase

Twenty-eight hostages and more than 1,000 prisoners have so far been exchanged. Sixty-six hostages taken on 7 October are still being held in Gaza, whilst three other hostages – taken more than a decade ago – are also being held. Around 50% of all the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

The next phase of the deal – under which the remaining living hostages would be released and the war would end permanently – were due to start earlier this month, but have not yet begun and the latest development must put those talks into serious doubt.