MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Body of Shiri Bibas handed over at last

Shiri Bibas was murdered in captivity after being abducted during the October 7 massacre

The pro-Palestine terrorist organization Hamas finally handed over the body of dual Israeli-Argentine national Shiri Bibas (née Silberman) who was killed early into the conflict stemming from the Oct. 7, 2023, raids from Gaza in which hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered and many others taken hostage. The L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir confirmed Saturday that the remains transferred to Israel on Friday night belong to Shiri Bibas, following extensive testing. The corpses of her two children had already been delivered alongside those of peace activist Oded Lifschitz and a woman originally believed to be Shiri but later determined to be someone else by forensics analysts.

The kibbutz Nir Oz, where the Bibas family lived, confirmed that this time around, the body was, in fact, that of Shiri Bibas. “Kibbutz Nir Oz announces with deep sorrow and sadness the death of Shiri Bibas, in blessed memory, who was abducted from her home on October 7 and murdered in captivity in Gaza,” the community said in a statement. “Today, after 16 difficult and unbearable months, the painful circle has finally closed for the family, and in the coming days, she will rest in the land of Israel with her two young children,” it added.

“Shiri, who was abducted at the age of 32, was born and raised in Nir Oz. For years, she cared for the kibbutz children with dedication as part of the education system and was beloved by all who knew her. In the past two years, she worked in the kibbutz accounting department, but above all, she was a devoted mother with endless love,” the kibbutz said Saturday in a statement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was involved in the humanitarian proceedings but declined to confirm the body's identity. “Tonight, at the request of the parties, an ICRC team received human remains, which were then transferred to Israeli authorities. The ICRC can not confirm any additional details,” the Swiss organization said in a communiqué late Friday.

“It is with great pain that we received the news of the identification of the late Shiri Bibas, who was murdered in captivity by the sons of injustice and was returned to Israel yesterday for eternal rest. The return of the late Shiri ends 505 agonizing days of uncertainty and deep pain. We share in the great sorrow of the Bibas family and will continue to accompany and embrace them.” said Saturday in a separate press release.

The ongoing ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had been compromised after it was determined that the remains handed over by Hamas did not belong to Shiri Bibas. Friday's amendment to what the pro-Palestine group claimed to be just a mistake allowed for the resumption Saturday of other releases in exchange for terrorists held in Israeli jails.

Shiri's parents, the Argentine couple of Yossi Silberman and his wife Margit, were also killed during the Oct. 7 onslaught while her husband Yarden was released earlier this week only to find out after over a year that he had been left a widower and the father of two slain children who became a symbol of the hostages' plight. At Yarden's request, Israeli authorities spread the forensics reports finding that both Kfir and Ariel, aged 10 months and four years respectively, had been strangled “in cold blood” and “with their own hands” by their captors and their bodies were later dismembered to pose them as if they had been killed in a bombing, so as to blame Tel Aviv for their fate.

After analyzing the remains, the Israeli army denounced that the alleged body of Bibas did not correspond to any hostage and also accused Hamas militiamen of having killed the two children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed Hamas members “monsters” and assured that the Palestinian movement would pay “a heavy price.” The Bibas family criticized Netanyahu's government “for abandoning them on October 7” and “during their captivity,” for which there would be “no forgiveness.”

Given Shiri's and, subsequently, her children's Argentine nationality, Buenos Aires decreed two days of national mourning.