Body of woman released by Hamas not Shiri BibasHamas says remains of Shiri Bibas destroyed in Israeli strikeHamas says it will investigateHamas said on Friday it was investigating a possible error in identifying human remains handed to Israel under a ceasefire deal.Hamas was due to hand over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons Kfir and Ariel on Thursday, along with the remains of a fourth hostage under the ceasefire deal that has halted fighting in Gaza since last month.Four bodies were delivered and the identities of the Bibas boys and the fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, were confirmed.But Israeli specialists said the fourth body was that of an unidentified woman and not Bibas, who was taken along with her sons and her husband, Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said ‘unfortunate mistakes’ could occur, especially as Israeli bombing had mingled the bodies of Israeli hostages and Palestinians, thousands of whom were still buried in the rubble.’We confirm that it is not in our values or our interest to keep any bodies or not to abide by the covenants and agreements that we sign,’ he said in a statement.Hamsas said separately that it would investigate the Israeli assertions and announce the results.Hamas said in November 2023 that the children and their mother had been killed in an Israeli air strike and Thawabta said Netanyahu ‘bears full responsibility for killing her and her children.’Netanyahu gave no details on a possible Israeli response, but the incident underscored the fragility of the ceasefire agreement reached with US backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month.Six living hostages are due for release on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to Hamas, and the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire is expected in the coming days.
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