Egypt Daily News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Friday to make Hamas “pay the price” for what he described as a “brutal” violation of the ceasefire in Gaza. His remarks came after it was revealed that one of the bodies handed over by the Palestinian group on Thursday was not that of hostage Shiri Bibas, as Hamas had initially claimed.
In a video statement, Netanyahu said, “The monsters of Hamas stubbornly refused to return the body of the mother, Shiri, and instead sent the body of a Gazan woman, in a blatant violation of the agreement.” He called on “the entire civilized world to condemn these horrific crimes and join Israel in demanding the immediate release of all hostages.”
Expressing deep sorrow, Netanyahu stated that “Israel stands united in grief, and as Prime Minister, I will not rest until we achieve justice against the monsters who executed our captives.” He continued, “Who kidnaps a young boy and a baby and then kills them? Savages.” He further pledged, “I will not relent until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice.”
Netanyahu accused Hamas of “unimaginable cruelty,” stating that “not only did they abduct the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two little children in a despicable and unfathomable act, but they also failed to return Shiri to her two little angels. Instead, they placed the body of a Gazan woman in the coffin.”
Hamas Responds
On Friday, Hamas responded, claiming that the remains of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas were “likely mixed with other human remains under the rubble” following an Israeli airstrike on the location where she was being held.
Hamas official Ismail Thawabta said, “Shiri Bibas’ body was turned into remains that were apparently mixed with other bodies under the ruins of a site deliberately and intentionally bombed by Israeli warplanes.”
On Thursday, Hamas handed over what it claimed were the bodies of four hostages, including three members of the Bibas family—Shiri and her two children—along with Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old hostage taken during the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
While Israeli forensic experts confirmed the identities of the Bibas children and Lifshitz, officials later announced that the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas.
