Israel said to lodge protest with mediators as it demands Hamas free Shiri Bibas

Israeli officials have protested to the mediators of the hostage release and ceasefire deal after Hamas handed over a body that was not Shiri Bibas or any other captive, in a violation of the agreement, according to Ynet.

“We don’t know why they did that, there is great shock here. We demand Shiri’s return,” an unnamed Israeli source tells the news site.

“It’s important to us that the next round [of the hostage release] on Saturday be held as planned,” the source adds, referring to the six living captives slated to be freed on Saturday.

Ynet reports that the military is bracing for Saturday’s releases to go ahead as planned, with the government yet to comment on how it will respond to Hamas’s failure to return Shiri Bibas.

According to Hebrew media reports, forensic experts conducted numerous checks on the body that Hamas claimed to be Shiri Bibas, comparing it to her DNA and that of other female hostages, but there were no matches and the identity of the remains is still unclear.