Hamas claims the remains of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young boys who were killed while held hostage, were unidentifiable after being mixed with other bodies in the rubble of an Israeli airstrike. Her body was not among those returned to Israel on Thursday.

Reports indicate Hamas officials stated on Friday that Shiri Bibas’ remains were “turned into pieces” and mingled with other bodies following an Israeli airstrike on the location where she was being held.

The IDF has confirmed the return of the remains of Kfir Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz to Israel after over 500 days in captivity.

Prior to the return, Hamas had indicated that the bodies would include Shiri Bibas, her two children Ariel and Kfir (aged 4 and 10 months, respectively), and Oded Lifshitz. However, Israeli authorities were only able to identify the remains of the two young boys.

Instead of Shiri Bibas’ body, Hamas sent Israel an unidentified body in the coffin bearing her name and photo. The IDF confirmed that the DNA of the body in the coffin did not match any known hostage.

“During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage,” the IDF stated. “This is an anonymous, unidentified body.”

“According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” authorities said.

The Red Cross, which facilitated the transfer on Thursday, expressed “concern and dissatisfaction” with the manner in which Hamas conducted the hostage release operations.

“The ICRC does not participate in sorting, screening, or examining the deceased – this is the responsibility of the parties to the conflict”, the organization stated on Friday, also noting its concern that the releases were not conducted privately and with dignity.

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