IDF Identifies 3 Slain Hostages; Fourth Body Fails To Match Shiri Bibas By The Media Line Staff The Israel Defense Forces announced early Friday that forensic tests have confirmed the identities of three slain hostages—Oded Lifshitz and brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas—while a fourth body, claimed by Hamas to be that of Shiri Silberman Bibas, […]
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The Media Line: IDF Identifies 3 Slain Hostages; Fourth Body Fails To Match Shiri Bibas
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IDF Identifies 3 Slain Hostages; Fourth Body Fails To Match Shiri Bibas
By The Media Line Staff
The Israel Defense Forces announced early Friday that forensic tests have confirmed the identities of three slain hostages—Oded Lifshitz and brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas—while a fourth body, claimed by Hamas to be that of Shiri Silberman Bibas, failed to match her DNA.
Hamas had handed over the remains in a highly propagandized ceremony on Thursday morning, displaying four coffins marked with photographs and names. The ceremony, designed as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal, quickly turned contentious after forensic experts at the Abu Kabir institute were unable to verify the identity of the fourth body.
“The return of only three identified hostages, and not the body of Shiri as promised, is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization,” stated an IDF spokesperson. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home, along with all of our hostages.”
The confirmed remains include those of Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old peace activist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz—kidnapped on October 7, 2023—and the two Bibas children, Ariel (4 years old) and Kfir (10 months old), who were brutally murdered by terrorists in late November 2023. In contrast, the body purported to be Shiri Bibas underwent extensive testing but did not match her DNA, leaving its identity unclear.