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THE body of Shiri Bibas has finally been returned home, Israel has confirmed.

It took Hamas terrorists two attempts to correctly return the mum's body back to her loved ones after sending the wrong remains in a vile mix up.

Woman holding a baby.
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The body of Shiri Bibas has finally been returned home to IsraelCredit: AP
Family portrait of a couple with their two young children.
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Shiri's husband Yarden was snatched along with their children Kfir and Ariel
Men in military uniforms carry a coffin.
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Masked militants carrying the coffin they claimed contained the remains of Shiri Bibas
Released hostages at a ceasefire event in Rafah, Gaza.
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Avera Mengistu and Tal Shoham are released as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah on SaturdayCredit: Reuters

Shiri's body was released overnight, and Israel’s army radio confirmed it had been identified.

The station reported that Bibas was likely killed while in captivity alongside her two young sons — four-year-old Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir.

Shiri's remains were handed over just hours before Hamas is set to release six more hostages on Saturday.

The six are said to be the last living hostages Hamas will release during the first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement.

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They are Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The Red Cross collected a body from the Gaza Strip that Hamas claimed is Shiri, two officials told on Friday.

The remains were passed to the IDF who reportedly took them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardwai told Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television that this body is the right one, in a humiliating statement for the terror group.

It's the second attempt Hamas have had at handing over Shiri's body after it returned the bodies of her two boys in a sick parade.

Hours after the initial twisted handover ceremony on Thursday, the IDF announced they couldn't identify the body as Shiri's.

Buses burn in Israel 'terror attack' after 'multiple' bombs explode within minutes of each other

In turn, Hamas said it was investigating a "mistake" in identifying the human remains.

A Hamas senior official Ismail al-Thawabteh said Shiri's body was “turned into pieces” in an Israeli airstrike - which Israel vehemently denies ever took place - and may have been “mixed with other bodies under the rubble”.

A statement by  said the group was dealing with the claims with "complete seriousness" and it would announce the results "clearly". 

A member of Hamas's political bureau, Basem Naim, blamed "unfortunate mistakes" adding that Hamas has no interest in keeping any bodies or not to abide by the signed agreements.

They claimed that the casket which Hamas said belonged to the mum actually contained "an anonymous, unidentified" person with "no match" found for any other hostage.

The harrowing statement from the IDF added that it was a "violation of utmost severity" by Hamas.

Hamas fighters in Rafah, Gaza, stand before a large banner depicting military actions and leaders.
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Hamas terrorists preparing to release six living hostages on SaturdayCredit: AP
Collage of six Israeli hostages released from the Gaza Strip.
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Clockwise: Avera Mengistu, Hisham Al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Tal Shem Tov and Tal Shoham are set to be freed in the latest hostage dealCredit: AFP
Protestors in Tel Aviv hold Israeli flags and wait for the release of hostages.
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People gather at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday ahead of the scheduled hostage release in GazaCredit: EPA

They demanded the terror group "return Shiri home along with all our hostages" immediately.

The heinous move by the terror group to allegedly lie about the handover has been widely condemned.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as an "unspeakable" act which shows "the cruelty of the Hamas monsters know no bounds".

He added in a video statement: "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."

Netanyahu also claimed the body handed over at the twisted parade on Thursday morning belonged to an unknown Gazan woman.

Hamas reportedly attempted to explain their way out of the fury by claiming the remains belonged to the mum as well as a mixture of other human remnants.

A Hamas official told AFP they are investigating the "mistake".

Family in Batman pajamas.
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It took Hamas two attempts to return the correct remains after a vile mix upCredit: Supplied
Woman holding two young children and crying.
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Shiri's face became a symbol of the horrors of October 7, when she and the children were taken by Hamas
Four caskets with photos of victims and their families displayed in front of a large photo of the family.
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Four coffins were displayed on a makeshift stage with a disturbing poster acting as a backdrop for the twisted paradeCredit: AP
Benjamin Netanyahu speaking.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Hamas will payCredit: Instagram/b.netanyahu

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon quickly slammed the Palestinian militants as he said they treated the coffin like a "worthless shipment”.

“This is a new low, an evil and cruelty with no parallel,” he said in a statement.

“There are no words that can describe such an atrocity.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the killing of the two children, which Hamas denies, and the failure to return Shiri's body was "sick".

"The vile killing of the Bibas children by Hamas terrorists is sick and abhorrent, as is the failure to return the body of their mother Shiri to the grieving family," the Foreign Secretary posted on X.

"Her body must be returned. The hostages must be released. This nightmare must end."

US president Donald Trump’s envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, said the stunt now puts the ceasefire deal into serious jeopardy.

He warned Hamas must release all the remaining hostages or face “total annihilation”.

Shiri's despairing face as she was kidnapped while clutching her two children became a symbol for the horror of the October 7 massacre.

They'll regret it

By Nick Parker, Foreign Editor

WHAT are the cornered Hamas rats thinking when they line up the ­coffins of murdered children in front of a picture of Benjamin Netanyahu as a blood-soaked vampire?

Do they really think stunts like this will garner more support from their deluded followers, who believe Israel is the epitome of all evil?

Do they think twisting the knife in the open wounds of an Israeli public struggling to contain its grief will weaken their enemy?

On both counts they are wrong and the more they bait and wind up Israel, the more they will come to regret it in the fullness of time.

Hamas and its death cult ideology is a spent force and making Israelis weep with anger may be its only remaining weapon — and one which will soon by turned against them.

The gamechanger in the Middle East is US President Donald Trump. He is 200 per cent on Israel’s side.

Israelis mourning the deaths of children, their mother and a peace campaigner should at least take comfort — evil Hamas will not be allowed to run Gaza much longer.

The IDF say they have managed to identify the bodies of Shiri's young sons, Ariel and Kfir as well as retired Israeli journalist Oded Lifshitz.

The apparent causes of the deaths were also revealed.

According to the IDF, citing intelligence and forensic findings, the two little boys were "brutally murdered" by the Hamas thugs in November 2023.

So was Lifshitz who had originally been kidnapped alongside his wife.

Baby Kfir - the youngest captive - was only nine months old when he was barbarically forced to spend the majority of his life as a Hamas prisoner. 

Israel say he likely died when he was only 11 months old.

The official flag of Israel has been turned orange on social media in honour of the brothers due to their ginger hair.

The IDF confirmed that while Hamas' violation would be "dealt with severely," Saturday's prisoner swap is expected to go ahead as planned.

Read More on The Sun

At least 66 hostages still remain captive in Gaza over 500 days on from the initial bloodshed with those who died in captivity finally being returned to their loved ones.

Only half are believed to be still alive, Israel fears.

Smiling baby holding a pink stuffed animal.
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Baby Kfir was the youngest hostage taken by Hamas on October 7
Young boy playing with a toy.
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Ariel Bibas pictured before he was kidnapped by Hamas
Mourners at a demonstration, surrounded by Israeli flags.
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Heartbroken Israelis were left in tears after the hostages were handed overCredit: Reuters
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