The sentiment of public mourning in Israel turned to shock on Friday after the government announced that none of the four bodies Hamas handed over on Thursday belonged to Argentine-Israeli Shiri Bibas. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted a statement on social media saying that three of the bodies they received had been positively identified as Bibas’ two children, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old who was also abducted on October 7, 2023. The release went on to say that the fourth, however, was “no match” for any other hostage, calling it an “anonymous, unidentified body.” 

“We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages,” they added.

Hamas has reportedly admitted that there might have been an “error or overlap” regarding the bodies due to the fact that they were allegedly recovered from the rubble following an Israeli attack. 

According to Qatari outlet Al Jazeera, the group published a statement on Telegram saying that they would investigate the matter and later “announce the results transparently.” They also called for the return of the body of the Palestinian woman they allegedly handed over by mistake. 

Hamas announced in November 2023 that Shiri Bibas and the two children had been killed during an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli authorities have not been able to independently confirm the claim. In February 2024, the Israeli military said it had found footage of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel being moved by militants in the Khan Younis area of Gaza, proving that they had got to the strip alive, but the date of the footage was unclear.

In the statement released on Friday, the IDF specifically contradicted Hamas’ account of how the hostages died, saying that, based on “available intelligence and forensic evidence,” the two children and Lifshitz had been “brutally murdered” in captivity in November 2023. 

Yarden Bibas, the husband and father of the family, had been released by Hamas on February 1. He became the first Argentine hostage to be freed since the new ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group began on January 19, 2025.

Hamas killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. In the ensuing war, Israeli Defense Forces have killed at least 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.