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From the New York Post: The body of Shiri Bibas, who was taken hostage by Hamas along with her two sons, was returned to Israel, her family confirmed early Saturday — and Israeli officials reportedly said she was murdered in captivity.
Bibas’ remains were identified in the early hours of Saturday morning at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute after Hamas handed off ‘anonymous unidentified’ remains in a previous exchange, The Times of Israel reported.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, the village where the Bibas family lived, said that the mother was murdered while being held hostage in Gaza.
Israeli officials also said an assessment determined Bibas was “brutally” murdered alongside her two young children in November 2023, according to the report.
Hamas had first claimed to have returned Shiri Bibas’ body on Thursday, along with the bodies of her two young sons. However, medical examiners soon discovered the body was not Shiri, but from another unidentified individual.
Finally, very early Friday morning, Hamas delivered Bibas’ body to the Red Cross, who then brought her remains to Israel. Despite that the transfer occurred at 2:45 a.m., Israeli’s lined the streets in a show of respect.
It’s 2:45 am in Israel and families got out of bed to be there for the coffin convey.
We don’t yet know if the body belongs to Shiri Bibas.
But Israelis still came out on Shabbat to pay their respects.
This is Am Yisrael Chai. pic.twitter.com/iZVVDVWJD0
— dahlia kurtz ✡︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) February 22, 2025
After the body was positively identified as Shiri’s, her family released the following statement Friday night:
“Tonight, our Shiri has returned home. After the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, this morning we received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family to rest.
Despite our fears for their fate, we kept hoping we would get to hug them again, and now we are broken and grieving. 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 a closure.
Shiri was a wonderful mother to Ariel and Kfir, a loving partner to Yarden, a devoted sister and aunt, and an amazing friend. In this difficult time, we continue to demand the immediate return of all the remaining hostages. Nothing is more important than that. There will be no healing without them.
The details of the funeral and shiv’ah will be published in due course. Please give the family the space to process and mourn. Thank you all for your support and love during these past 16 months. We only wish Shiri had lived to see it.”
The Bibas Family just issued this statement: “Tonight, our Shiri has returned home. After the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, this morning we received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her… pic.twitter.com/q6Y3EHBjZp
— Noa Tishby (@noatishby) February 22, 2025
The whole world is praying for your soul, Shiri Bibas. pic.twitter.com/zIZHjYVKbA
— נועה מגיד | Noa magid (@NoaMagid) February 22, 2025
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz wrote, “The Bibas children were murdered at the hands of Hamas and NOT accidentally bombed. Pure evil. Keeping the Bibas family and all Israelis in our prayers for this unspeakable violence. Hamas must be destroyed.”
The Bibas children were murdered at the hands of Hamas and NOT accidentally bombed. Pure evil.
Keeping the Bibas family and all Israelis in our prayers for this unspeakable violence.
Hamas must be destroyed.
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) February 21, 2025
Statement from the Bibas Family:
Tonight, our Shiri was returned home. After the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received the news we feared this morning—Shiri was murdered in captivity. She has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and… pic.twitter.com/d9AVbgnRuS
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) February 22, 2025
BREAKING:
Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas in Gaza.
Yarden has lost his beloved wife and his 2 sons. pic.twitter.com/7EZApDv1b6
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 22, 2025
The treatment of the Bibas family has been heartbreaking. What kind of monsters attack defenceless children and murder them with their bare hands? Hamas is nothing but a sick death cult. Enough of the BBC’s nauseating moral equivocation between Israel and Hamas. pic.twitter.com/aidplMaP3f
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 21, 2025
JUST IN: The body handed over by Hamas on Friday has been identified as that of Shiri Bibas, according to her family. https://t.co/o1BgvY5Ku2 pic.twitter.com/jElLVTGlfu
— ABC News (@ABC) February 22, 2025
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