JERUSALEM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The body of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas, which was handed over to Israel on Friday night by Hamas via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, was confirmed by forensic analysis, Israel's state-owned Kan TV News and other leading media outlets reported on Saturday.
After being handed over to the Israel Defense Forces, the body was transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine based in Tel Aviv, where the identification was made.
Bibas's remains were supposed to be returned to Israel on Thursday, along with the bodies of her two children and another hostage, 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, as part of an arrangement under a three-phase ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Jan. 19.
However, forensic analysis showed the remains returned were not hers. In the developments afterwards, a senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that the mix-up occurred due to the chaos caused by Israeli airstrikes, which led to the misidentification of the remains.
"It was an unintentional mistake," he said.
Earlier on Friday before the final delivery of the remains of Bibas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will seek revenge against Hamas over its failure to hand over Bibas's body. "We will ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said.
The four dead Israeli hostages were among the about 250 hostages abducted to Gaza during a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas is expected to release six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds more Palestinians detained by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal.
The release of the remaining living hostages in Gaza is expected to take place during the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which still needs to be negotiated. ■
