Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas will pay for not returning body of hostage Shiri Bibas
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Israeli specialists said that one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas on Feb 20 was an unidentified woman and not Ms Shiri Bibas.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb 21 that Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as agreed.
“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages – both living and dead – and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” he said in a video statement.
The statement came after Israeli specialists said that one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas on Feb 20 was an unidentified woman and not Ms Shiri Bibas, whose two sons Kfir and Ariel were handed over and identified.
Mr Netanyahu accused Hamas of acting “in an unspeakably cynical manner” by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Ms Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her two sons and her husband Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
Hamas has not issued any public comment so far on the Israeli accusation, which threatens to derail the fragile ceasefire agreement reached with US backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month.
However, it was not immediately clear whether it would delay or prevent the handover of six living hostages due for release on Feb 22, or whether it would interrupt the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire, expected in the coming days. REUTERS
