Bodies of Hamas’ youngest hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother have been formally recognized however third individual is NOT their mom, IDF says
The bodies of Hamas‘ youngest hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother have been formally identified but the third body returned Israel is not their mother.
Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages to Israel yesterday with the fourth being identified as the 83-year-old journalist Oded Lifschitz.
Kfir Bibas was just nine-months-old when he was kidnapped from a kibbutz on October 7 along with his mother, Shiri Bibas, and his four-year-old brother Ariel.
The children’s father Yarden Bibas was released by Hamas earlier this month as part of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas has claimed they were all killed in israeli airstrikes a the start of the war.
Due to Kfir being the youngest of the hostages taken on October 7 the Bibas Family had become amongst the most famous of the 251 israelis taken to Gaza by Hamas on October 7.
The four coffins were displayed to crowds in front of disturbing propaganda posters before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by armed Hamas fighters.
In a statement the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said: ‘Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police, IDF representatives informed the Bibas family that their loved ones, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, have been identified.
They were then transferred to the Israeli military inside Gaza, where they were checked and draped in Israeli flags, before being driven across the border into Israel. They were welcomed home by flag-waving Israelis, who lined the convoy’s route.
Thousands of people, including large numbers of masked and armed fighters, had gathered at the site in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, to watch the chilling handover ceremony, filming, cheering and waving banners.
‘According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023.
‘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. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.
‘This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.
‘Ariel Bibas was four years old at the time of his death, and Kfir Bibas was ten months old at the time of his death. They were abducted with their mother, Shiri Bibas, from their home in Nir Oz. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, went out to protect them and was abducted prior to the abduction of Shiri and the children. Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on February 1, 2025.
‘We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bibas family during this incredibly difficult time and remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure Shiri and all the hostages are brought home at the earliest opportunity.’
This is a breaking news story more to follow.
