Autopsy on Bibas hostages shows ‘no evidence of injuries by bombing': expert
JERUSALEM: An autopsy conducted on the remains of Israeli hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young boys after they were handed over by Hamas militants found 'no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing,' a top forensic expert said Saturday.
'We have identified the remains of Shiri Bibas, two days after identifying her children, Ariel and Kfir. Our examination found no evidence of injuries caused by (a) bombing,' Chen Kugel, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine said in a video statement.
Shiri Bibas and her sons were seized by militants on October 7, 2023 during the attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Shiri's husband and the father of the two boys, Yarden Bibas, had also been abducted but was released alive earlier this month.
Since their abduction, Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel who was then aged four, and Kfir, then only nine months, had become symbols of Israel's hostage ordeal.
On Thursday, Hamas handed over four bodies, saying they were of Shiri Bibas, her two young sons, and an elderly hostage.
While the remains of her two sons and the elderly hostage were identified positively, Israeli authorities said the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas, sparking anger and grief across the country.
But on Friday, Hamas — which blamed a possible 'mix-up' of bodies — handed over new remains to the Red Cross, which were later identified to be that of Shiri Bibas.
Hamas has long insisted that an Israeli air strike killed Bibas and her sons early in the war.
However, the Israeli military asserts instead that they were killed by militants and even said that the two children were killed in 'cold blood.'
'Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood. The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands,' military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement on Friday.
'Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities,' he added.
The Bibas family described the deaths of the three hostages as murder, but asked that the manner of the death not be shared publicly.
'The family has not received any such details from official sources,' it said in a statement earlier on Saturday.
'The family requests to cease adding details regarding the fact that Shiri and the children were murdered by their captors.
'Yarden and the family want the world to know this was murder, without delving into any specifics,' it said.
On Saturday, Hamas reiterated that the Bibas family was not killed in captivity in Gaza.
'The false allegations that the criminal (Israeli) occupation is disseminating about the death of the Bibas children at the hands of their captors are merely baseless lies and fabrications,' Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Body of Mohammed Sinwar Identified
Israeli authorities said on Sunday they identified the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed al-Sinwar that was earlier retrieved from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Al-Sinwar is the chief commander of Hamas's military wing and the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar. 'The body of al-Sinwar, is now in Israeli custody,' the Israeli army confirmed Sunday following a completed identification process, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. Authorities gave no further details about the other bodies found in the interconnected tunnel complex. Earlier, the Israeli Radio channel said the bodies of 10 other Palestinian Hamas members and leaders were recovered from the tunnel. The bodies were recovered during a special military operation. 'The Israeli military released footage showing the underground infrastructure beneath the hospital, including a command-and-control center reportedly used by senior Hamas commanders to direct combat operations,' Yedioth Ahronoth said. It added that the operation began last Wednesday evening. Prior to the raid, the hospital had been evacuated. Later, the government media office in Gaza denied the Israeli military claims that the tunnel was found beneath the European Hospital. The office said the video released by the Israeli army shows a narrow metal pipe that cannot fit a person, has no stairs or equipment and is located in an area used for rainwater drainage. It also said the Israeli forces dug the site themselves and staged the footage near the hospital's emergency department, which remains crowded with patients. On May 21, two Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Sinwar was killed alongside other Hamas figures in an Israeli airstrike on an underground tunnel near the European Hospital east of Khan Younis. One source said the bodies were moved from one tunnel to another for temporary burial. 'They were buried underground due to security concerns,' the source added. 'Hamas informed the families that the remains were not brought above ground and are expected to remain buried in the tunnels until the security situation allows for proper funerals,' the sources said. A second source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qassam Brigades special units entered the collapsed tunnel after the bombing and recovered several bodies. The source said the method used to retrieve the bodies mirrored that of previous operations, including the recovery of senior Hamas officials Rawhi Mushtaha and Sameh al-Siraj, whose deaths were also confirmed posthumously.
Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel says Hamas Gaza chief Sinwar's body identified
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has said it has located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza. His body was discovered in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday. It said it had verified the body's identity through DNA checks — though Hamas has not publicly confirmed his death. Sinwar, 49, was killed in an air strike on 13 May, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 28 people and injured dozens. Sinwar's body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, the IDF said. It added that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation". The IDF said other bodies were found, which it was looking to identify. It took a small group of foreign journalists into Gaza to Khan Younis to show them the tunnel on Sunday. It also published video of the small entrance to the tunnel, accessible through freshly dug earth just in front of the European Hospital. The footage shows a long, narrow underground corridor that leads to several rooms. Inside some of them, piles of clothes and plastic chairs are visible, with a rifle leaning up against the wall. One video also shows a shrouded body being pulled from the tunnel by a rope. IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that in one of the rooms they found the Sinwar's body. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centers, which the group denies. The IDF has mounted sieges and attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, leaving the territory's health system on the verge of total collapse. Such attacks have caused widespread international concern, as many hospitals and medical facilities have been put out of action — and the lives of patients and staff put at risk. In a statement after an Israeli strike on al-Ahli hospital in April, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep alarm and declared that, under international humanitarian law, the "wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected". Hospital staff in Gaza have also repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities as a base. The IDF will point to this latest footage as vindication of its claims and its military strategy. As with so much in Gaza, however, full independent verification is not possible. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023 , in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The renewed fighting in Gaza comes following the collapse of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal a few months ago. Since then, Israel has restated its aim to destroy Hamas and recover the hostages, of whom 54 remain in captivity and 23 are thought to still be alive. Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after its founding in the late 1980s and became a member of the group's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He rose through the ranks and by 2005 he was commander of the Khan Younis Brigade. Sinwar was also reported to have been close to another of Hamas's previous military chiefs, Mohammed Deif, and had been involved in the planning of the 7 October attack. His brother and predecessor, Yahya Sinwar — believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 7 October attack — was killed by Israeli troops last October. — BBC
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says body of Sinwar's brother found there
KHAN YOUNIS: The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Sinwar, in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. 'This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again,' said Defrin. 'We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar,' he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations — a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Defrin said the army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug in front of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, which was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. 'We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organization right in our backyard, right across our border,' Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine.
