Israel accused Hamas this Friday of having given him the body of a stranger in place of that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of Ariel and Kfir. Hamas would have given a fifth body to the Red Cross in the evening, which must be that of the mother.
The bodies of four hostages were given to Israel on Thursday, February 20. Hamas exhibited four black coffins on a stage mounted in Khan Younès, in the south of the Gaza Strip, before handing them over to the agents of the International Committee of the Red Cross (CICR). The coffins were brought by hooded and armed fighters from Hamas.
But on the night of Thursday to Friday, February 21, the Israeli army indicated that the body of Shiri Bibas did not appear among the remains given by Hamas, accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement of having given him a body of a stranger to The Place de l’Otage. The bodies of the two children: KFIR and Ariel Bibas were well identified, like that of Oded Lifschitz. The Hebrew State already requires that the body of Shiri Bibas be returned: “We ask Hamas to make Shiri Bibas as well as all the people kidnapped”, writes on Telegram the spokesman of the Israeli army Avichay Adraeee . Hamas would have given a fifth bodies on Friday evening to the Red Cross. The body must be studied to find out if it is Shiri Bibas.
This Friday, Israel also accuses Hamas of having killed Ariel and Kfir Bibas during their captivity and not in bombing as the Palestinian movement affirms. “According to the assessment of the competent authorities and on the basis of the information available and the diagnostic indicators, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally killed in captivity in November 2023 by Palestinian terrorists,” said, still on Telegram, the spokesperson of Tsahal.
Thursday, on each funeral safe, the Palestinian Islamist group had hung the photo of the hostage to be returned to the Israeli authorities. These were photos of the three members of the Bibas family: Maman Shiri and her two children Ariel and Kfir, who were aged 4 and 8 and a half at the time of their kidnapping by Hamas, and Oded Liffshitz , 83 years old during her kidnapping. After a simulacrum of funeral ceremony under the banners of Hamas, whose images were broadcast by the Palestinian group but not relayed by the Palestinian authorities, the remains of the three hostages and that of a stranger, which, according to the autopsy, is not that of the mother of the two children of the Bibas family, left the Gaza Strip in the vehicles of the Red Cross.
Uncertainties on the death of the Bibas family
All members of the Bibas family had been removed by Hamas during the attack on October 7, 2023 in the Kibbutz of Nir Or, near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Bibas children were the youngest hostages held by Hamas and their captivity aroused strong concerns. Shiri and his two children had been retained by the Islamist group for more than 16 months, when they should have been among the first hostages released during the Trier, that of November 2023 when other children captured by Hamas were given to Israel and the one that has been underway since January 19.
Their absence among the released hostages fueled the fears concerning their fate and their survival. A fear that worsened on February 1 during the release of the first hostage men, including Yarden Bibas, the father of this family. The man was removed at a different time from the rest of his family and was not selected in the same place as his children during his captivity.
The four members of the Bibas family appeared on the list of 33 liberable hostages during the first phase of the current truce in Gaza. If Israel announced before the first exchanges of January, that eight of these people had died in captivity, the government did not specify the names of the deceased. Nothing indicates that the Israeli government had had confirmation of the death of the Bibas family members or not
Hamas had announced the death of Shiri Bibas and his two children in an Israeli strike in November 2023, a month after the attack and the numerous hostage kidnappings. The Hebrew state had never confirmed the information. Until the announcement of the discount of the bivas children and their mother, relatives of the family said they cling to “hope” to see them alive with the Times of Israel.
22:31 – A new body was given to the Red Cross
According to The Times of Israel, the Red Cross has recovered a new body from Hamas. It would be the body of Shiri Bibas. The body must be transferred to the ABOU Kabir Medico-Legal Institute in Tel Aviv to be identified.
21:59 – The British diplomacy chief denounces “the vile assassination” of the Bibas family
David Lammy, the British Foreign Minister, denounced “the vile assassination of Bibas children”, in a message published on X. He describes this act as “repugnant and abject, just like the fact that the body of their mother Shiri was not returned to their family in mourning “. He calls for that bodies are returned to his family, and that the hostages are released.
The Vile Killing of the Bibas Children by Hamas Terrorists is Sick and Abhorrent, as is the Failure to Return the Body of Their Mother Shiri to the Grieving Family. Her Body Must Be Returned. The hostages must be released. This Nightmare must end. https://t.co/dscjvpbyh
– David Lammy (@davidlammy) FEBRUARY 21, 2025
20:47 –
Donald Trump does not “impose” his plan for Gaza
Donald Trump Retropedale concerning his plan for Gaza? The American president had proposed a plan of moving the Palestinian population to neighboring countries and making the Gaza band the “Côte d’Azure du Middle East”. The United States would then take control of this territory. A plan applauded by Benyamin Netanyahu, but decree on the international scene.
The American president reaffirmed his confidence in this plan during an interview with Fox News Radio, but still assured that he will not “impose it”: “I’m just going to step back and recommend it.” Sure of him, but more in taxation, he explains: “The United States would have the property of the site, there would be no Hamas, there would be a development and we would leave zero.”
20:05 – Donald Trump assures that he will support Benyamin Netanyahu, whether by taking over the war or continuing
The presentation of four Israeli hostage bodies was deemed particularly “barbaric”. It must be said that two of them were very young children (the children of the Bibas family) and the body that should have been that of their mother was not identified. In addition, a ceremony was organized by Hamas forces before putting them back to the Red Cross. Enough to provoke anger on the Israeli side, which is supported by Donald Trump: “Benyamin Netanyahu is so angry, and he is right to be,” he said during an interview on Fox News Radio. The American president says that he will support Israel in his response to Hamas, whether by continuing to negotiate peace, or by taking over the war.
19:57 – A new exchange of hostages planned for Saturday
Despite the persistent tensions, a new exchange of hostages is scheduled for Saturday. 6 Israeli hostages should be given to the Red Cross while 602 Palestinian prisoners should be released.
18:56 – Hamas promises an investigation
After Hamas was accused by Israel of having violated the truce agreement by not making Shiri Bibas’ body. An unknown body was reportedly given to the Red Cross, according to Israeli authorities. Hamas has promised an investigation.
18:05 – Hundreds of people gathered in Paris
Hundreds of people gathered Friday in Paris to pay tribute to the hostages killed by Hamas, two days after the restitution in Israel of the bodies of several captives, including those of the two children of the Bibas family. “An inconsolable sadness, a huge fear and rage in the belly. This is the state in which we are all plunged,” deplored Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF).
5:07 pm – A “barbaric act denounced”
The Israeli army said this Friday that the two little Bibas brothers were killed “by bare hands terrorists”. The hostage families forum removed by Hamas in Israel supported this accusation in a statement and denounced “a barbaric act”. “Ebranlé” by this announcement, the structure has pointed out “new undeniable proof of the unfathomable brutality of those who continue to hold our loved ones in captivity”.
15:38 – According to Israel, the Bibas brothers were “killed with bare hands”
The Israeli army said this Friday that the two little Bibas brothers were killed “by bare hands terrorists”. “Ariel and Kfir Bibas were killed in composure by terrorists. The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys, they killed them with bare hands. Then they committed horrible acts to hide these atrocities” said the army spokesman, counter-admiral Daniel Hagari, in a television statement.
14:23 – 602 prisoners released this Saturday
The Palestinian prisoners club indicates this Friday the release of 602 prisoners as part of the sixth exchange of prisoners for hostages in the Gaza Strip. The release will take place this Saturday, as indicated by Times of Israel. 445 are from Gaza and were arrested after the attack on Hamas on October 7, 2023. “60 purge heavy sorrows, 50 of perpetuity criminal criminal penalties and 47 were arrested again after an exchange of prisoners in 2011” , tell AFP the spokesperson for the NGO Club of Palestinian prisoners, Amani Sarahneh.
13:41 – Netanyahu undertakes to court “these savages having executed our hostages”
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu calls on the world to condemn the “horrible murders” of Bibas children in a statement. “Who takes off a little boy and a baby and murderers? Monsters,” he said. “I undertake not to release my efforts as long as these savages who have executed our hostages will not be brought to justice,” also launched.
13:02 – 6 Israeli hostages released this Saturday
The armed branch of Hamas confirms in a press release published this Friday, February 21, 2025 the liberation of six Israeli hostages living this Saturday. “The Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades said in a statement that the release of the hostages would take place as planned,” added France Info. Thursday, the hostage families forum published their names: Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hicham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu.