The heart-wrenching saga of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has taken a tragic turn, as her family announced the return of her body from the Gaza Strip, only to discover that it was the wrong one. The Bibas family confirmed the devastating news on Saturday morning, revealing that the remains sent from Gaza were incorrectly identified as those of 32-year-old Shiri.
“Last night, our Shiri was returned home,” the family shared in a statement. “Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received this morning the news we had dreaded — our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that they received the human remains from Gaza, which were then transferred to Israeli authorities. The Palestinian Mujahedeen Brigades, the group believed to have held Shiri and her two children captive, relinquished Shiri’s remains to the Red Cross on Friday.
Tragic Abduction and Ordeal
Shiri, along with her husband Yarden, 35, and their young children Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, were abducted from their home in southern Israel during a Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, 2023. While Yarden managed to survive and was released earlier, Shiri and her children remained in captivity, their fate unknown.
Hamas, the governing militant group in Gaza, handed over what they claimed were the remains of four Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel. However, upon forensic analysis, Israeli officials determined that the bodies of Oded Lifshitz and the Bibas children were positively identified, but the fourth body did not match that of Shiri or any other hostage.
The Israel Defense Forces revealed the chilling details of the children’s fate, stating that Ariel and Kfir were brutally murdered by their captors in Gaza, no later than November 2023. The IDF reported that the terrorists did not use firearms but resorted to brutal physical violence, followed by attempts to conceal their heinous actions.
Political Fallout and Denials
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed outrage over the mistaken return of the body, vowing to seek justice for the victims. Hamas, on the other hand, vehemently denied the allegations of killing the Bibas family, dismissing them as baseless lies. The group maintained that the mother and her children perished in an Israeli airstrike, fueling further tensions between the two sides.
As the Bibas family grapples with the harrowing truth of Shiri’s fate, the international community watches with bated breath, hoping for a resolution to the ongoing conflict in the region. The tragic loss of innocent lives serves as a stark reminder of the toll of war and the urgent need for peace and reconciliation.
ABC News correspondents Ellie Kaufan, Jordana Miller, and Samy Zyara contributed valuable insights to this report, shedding light on the complexities of the situation and the deep-rooted emotions surrounding the Bibas family tragedy. The quest for truth and justice continues as the world waits for answers and accountability in the wake of this heartbreaking ordeal.
