We cannot mourn until Shiri Bibas is returned, family says

The Bibas family were taken hostage during the 7 October attack

The sister-in-law of hostage Shiri Bibas said the family is "not seeking revenge right now" and called for her return from Gaza after Israel said Hamas had released the body of an unidentified woman.

Ofri Bibas Levy said in a statement that the family could not mourn Shiri's sons, whose bodies were handed over, until their mother is returned.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire after forensic testing revealed the body returned on Thursday was not Shiri.

A Hamas spokesman said her remains seem to have been mixed up with other bodies under rubble after an Israeli air strike. The group said it was investigating and affirmed its "full commitment to all our obligations" in the ceasefire.

The three other bodies given back to Israel on Thursday have been identified as Shiri's sons Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, and peace activist Oded Lifschitz, 84, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Hamas previously said the mother and her two children were killed in an Israeli air strike.

However, Israel said on Thursday intelligence and forensics show the boys "were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023".

Ms Bibas Levy, sister of Shiri's husband Yarden Bibas, who was released by Hamas on 1 February, said: "We are still waiting for Shiri and fear for her fate."

The events of recent days "emphasizes the urgent need to bring Shiri back to us, save the lives of the living hostages, and return all the fallen for burial", she said,

Her statement came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "take revenge".

"For Ariel and Kfir's sake, and for Yarden's sake, we are not seeking revenge right now," Ms Bibas Levy said. "We are asking for Shiri."

Ms Bibas Levy said it was "Israel's responsibility and obligation" to bring her family members back alive after they were taken hostage during the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.

"There is no forgiveness for abandoning them on October 7, and no forgiveness for abandoning them in captivity," she said.

In a statement earlier on Friday, Netanyahu said: "Ariel, Kfir and Oded: I am so sorry we couldn't save you from the monsters who did this."

The "devastating news" that Shiri's body had not yet been returned has brought "profound grief" to the family, her sister-in-law said.

To her deceased nephews, Ms Bibas Levy said: "I'm sorry I cannot yet cry for you. We are waiting for Mommy Shiri."

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the 7 October attacks.

About 1,200 people - mostly civilians - were killed in the attacks and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians - mainly civilians - according to the Hamas-run health ministry.