Bibas Family Tragedy: Hostage Update

• The mother of two young boys murdered by Hamas terrorists while in captivity was not among the bodies returned to Israel.
• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed this information.
• Hamas announced the bodies would include Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, ages 4 and 10 months old, as well as Oded Lifshitz.
• Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine only identified the bodies of the two young boys.
• The IDF stated the additional body received was not that of Shiri Bibas and no match was found for any other hostage; it was an anonymous, unidentified body.
• Based on intelligence and forensic findings, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023.
• The Bibas family became symbols of the ordeal that has gripped Israel since the war in Gaza began
• The IDF extended condolences to the Bibas family and remains committed to bringing Shiri and all hostages home.
• The IDF called the deaths a "violation of utmost severity" by Hamas.
• Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said Hamas continues to "violate every basic moral value.".
• Danon says Hamas returned an unidentified body instead of Shiri, the mother, treating it as a worthless shipment.
• Danon criticizes UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the UN Security Council, and the General Assembly for remaining silent.
• Ariel and Kfir's father, Yarden Bibas, was abducted prior to the kidnapping of his wife and children, and Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on Feb 1.
• The young boys and their mother were abducted from their home by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.
• Thursday's release is the has been the only one involving the transfer of slain hostages since the ceasefire deal went into effect last month.
• About 70 hostages remain in Hamas custody.
• Nearly all the remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, are men, and about half are believed to be dead.

The bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, tragically murdered by Hamas, were identified. Their mother, Shiri Bibas, was not among those returned, and her whereabouts are still unknown. The IDF extends condolences and remains committed to bringing all hostages home.