Netanyahu welcomes freeing of 6 hostages; says Israel ‘will not forget or forgive’ murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas

22 February 2025, 6:37 pm

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauds the release of the 6 living hostages today, calling it a “moment of joy and relief” for their families and Israel.

In a statement issued as Shabbat ends, he also notes “our insistence and unequivocal demand” for the return of the body of Shiri Bibas, two days after Hamas gave Israel the body of a Gazan woman in her stead. Shiri’s body was finally returned to Israel late last night.

“We will not forget and will not forgive,” he says of the murders of the three members of the Bibas family.

Netanyahu says his government “is committed to continuing to work resolutely to return all of our hostages home – the living to their families and the dead to a proper burial in their own country.”