Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert wave on stage at a Hamas propaganda ceremony; Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu returned to Israel. Hisham al-Sayed, the sixth hostage freed today, will reportedly be handed over to the Red Cross at a third location, in Gaza City, without ceremony. Kibbutz Nir Oz reported early Saturday morning that its resident Shiri Bibas was murdered in captivity in Gaza after Hamas handed over her body overnight and it was taken to Israel for identification.
Hamas this morning handed over to Red Cross workers in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, the first two of the six Israeli hostages the terrorist movement is expected to release during the day in exchange for six hundred Palestinians from Israeli prisons, according to a ceasefire agreement. This can be seen at:
"It is with pain and deep sorrow that Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home," it states in a statement by the municipality, which was one of the most devastated by the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October 2023.
"Today, after 16 excruciating months, this painful circle has finally come full circle for the family, and in the coming days they will return to eternal rest on the soil of Israel with their two young sons," Nir Oz added in a statement.
According to the assessments issued by Israeli officials after the body was identified, Shiri was "brutally" murdered along with her two boys, four-year-old Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir, in November 2023.
The announcement came a day after Hamas handed over the remains, which it claimed were Bibi's but turned out to be Palestinian.
Following the municipality's announcement, the Bibas family issued a statement saying that they held out hope that Shiri and her young sons, Ariel and Kfir, would return alive after being kidnapped by terrorists during a Hamas attack. She added that "she demanded certainty [about their fate] for 16 months', a "nothing comforts her now".
"Shiri has been a wonderful mother to Ariel and Kfir, a loving partner to Yarden, a devoted sister and aunt, and an incredible friend," the family added, adding that details of the funeral and sewing will be provided soon.
"Thank you all for the support and love you have shown us throughout the 16 months; we wish Shiri could be here to see it."
TOI/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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