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Egypt Independent
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Human remains returned by Hamas to Israel confirmed as those of former hostage Shiri Bibas
CNN — 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. '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.'
CNN
22-02-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Hamas releasing final living hostages due to be freed under first phase of Gaza ceasefire
Hamas is in the process of releasing six Israeli hostages in Gaza – the final living captives whom the warring sides agreed would be released when a ceasefire began last month. The first two were released in the southern Gaza city of Rafah Saturday morning. They were Tal Shoham, 40, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023, and Avera Mengistu, 38, an Israeli from Ashkelon who crossed into Gaza in 2014. Shoham was one of four of the six set for release who were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants on October 7. Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23, were all taken from the Nova music festival, and Shoham was taken from the kibbutz along with his two children, wife, and mother-in-law, all of whom were released in November 2023. The other hostage to be released Saturday, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, an Arab-Israeli from a Bedouin community in southern Israel, walked into Gaza in 2015. Both he and Mengistu reportedly have serious mental health conditions. Hamas on Friday said that it expects Israel to release 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange. Of those, 50 had been sentenced to life imprisonment and another 60 are serving long sentences, while 445 were detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and held without charge. The six to be released on Saturday are the last living hostages whom Israel and Hamas agreed to exchange when indirect talks in Qatar last month culminated in a ceasefire agreement. Just before being handed over to the Red Cross in Rafah, Shoham and Mengistu were paraded on stage, flanked by armed and masked militants. They were handed documents, and Shoham was forced to address the crowd. The remains of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday night. 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. 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. A convoy carrying Bibas' remains, which Hamas had turned over to the Red Cross, arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday night. '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,' said a statement from her family provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Saturday. After Saturday's releases, Hamas and its allies will continue to hold 63 Israeli hostages in Gaza. At least 32 of those are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli government – one of whom, the soldier Hadar Goldin, has been held since 2014. If another four hostage bodies are released next week as planned, the handover process for the first phase of the deal will be complete. Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations to extend the ceasefire. Those talks began more than two weeks late.
