A forensic analysis of Shiri Bibas’s body found no evidence linking her death to an Israeli airstrike, contrary to claims made by Hamas.
Her corpse was positively identified by Dr. Chen Kugel, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) in Tel Aviv.
“We identified Shiri Bibas two days after confirming the identities of her two young children, Kfir and Ariel,” Kugel stated on Saturday. “Our examination found no injuries consistent with a bombing.”
Hamas had long alleged that Bibas and her children were killed in an IDF airstrike in Gaza. However, the forensic findings directly contradict that narrative.
“We were met with depths of evil and malice that could not be conceived,” added Kugel.
On Thursday, Hamas returned the bodies of Shiri’s children, Kfir and Ariel, along with that of octogenarian Oded Lifshitz. However, the fourth body freed from Gaza, which Hamas said was that of Shiri Bibis, was found to belong to an unidentified woman.
Shiri Bibas’s remains were returned to Israel from Gaza on Friday night. Hamas transferred her body to the Red Cross, which then handed it over to the IDF. The military brought her remains to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for definitive identification and examination.
“This is a difficult day for us and for all citizens of Israel,” Kugel concluded.
Forensic analysis of Kfir and Ariel also showed that they were murdered in cold blood by their Gaza captors. The IDF said that the Palestinian terrorists committed the crime “with their bare hands” weeks after being taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Gazan terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz. They breached the Bibas family home’s door using a drill and other equipment and entered the safe room where the four were hiding. Father Yarden reported the attack to his wider family in real-time, texting that “it feels like the end.”
The video of Shiri’s kidnapping—terrified and trying to protect her two children with her arms as she was surrounded by masked men with weapons—became a symbol of the Oct. 7 massacre. Shiri’s parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, were murdered that day.
Yarden Bibas was freed on Feb. 1 after 484 days in Hamas captivity.
According to the Israeli government, 63 hostages are remaining in Gaza, with 36 classified as deceased and 27 alive. Another four bodies are slated for release this coming Thursday.
