The Fate of the Bibas Family Remains Uncertain as Hamas Prepares to Release Hostages Alive and Deceased
Hamas announced that they were returning the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two children, but Israeli authorities have not yet confirmed their deaths.
On Saturday, Hamas stated they would release six Israeli hostages alive and return the bodies of four others on Thursday.
Israeli authorities have only identified one of the deceased hostages.
According to the Times of Israel, Hamas claimed that the other three deceased individuals were Shiri Bibas and her children, Ariel and Kfir.
These two children, aged 5 and 2 if still alive, had become symbolic figures in the hostage situation.
Israel has not confirmed officially if the three bodies being returned are indeed those of the Bibas family.
The family released a statement expressing their distress following Hamas’s announcement but mentioned they had not yet received formal confirmation from the government about the deaths.
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They stated, “Our journey is not over until we have received definitive confirmation.”
Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the boys’ father, was released earlier in the month.
The Israeli government is deeply concerned about the fate of the three remaining Bibas family members.
The release of the six living hostages on Saturday includes all those agreed upon by Hamas in the first phase of the cease-fire.
Priority was given to women, children, elderly men, and sick or injured men.
Hamas sped up the release process, planning to deliver three hostages this week and three more the following week as the first phase comes to an end.
In exchange, they have secured 47 Hamas members who were part of the 2011 prisoner exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit but were later re-arrested by Israel.
Originally, these 47 individuals were supposed to be released on the final day of the six-week first phase, but Hamas was concerned that the agreement might not hold until then, according to an Israeli official.
Hamas is set to return four more bodies next week, completing the deal for 33 hostages in the first phase—25 living and 8 deceased.
The one body identified by the Israeli government to be returned this week is Shlomo Mantzur, 85.
Initially presumed to be kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, the IDF informed his family that he was murdered on that day and his body taken to Gaza.
Families and supporters of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip hold 73 posters of them at the entrance to the Israeli Parliament on Feb. 17, 2025, marking 500 days of captivity. Amir Levy/Getty Images
A Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil Al Hayya, mentioned that among the six living hostages are Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held for over a decade.
According to the Times of Israel, families have been notified that Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, and Tal Shoham, all living hostages, are also set for release on Saturday.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
