Israel prepared Saturday to receive six more hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees as a body returned from Gaza on Friday was confirmed to be that of hostage Shiri Bibas.
A statement released late Friday by the Bibas family said forensic analysis confirmed Shiri Babas’ remains.
"Last night, our Shiri was returned home," the family said.
Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, said Bibas' remains appeared to have been mixed up with other human remains taken from rubble after an Israeli airstrike hit the place she was held.
Israeli officials said forensic evidence indicated Shiri Bibas and her children were killed by Palestinian militants.
Four of the hostages set to be released Saturday at 8:30 a.m. were taken by Hamas during its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Another two have been held since long before the war, entering Gaza separately under unexplained circumstances around a decade ago.
Palestinian Hamas militants and people gather at the site of the handing over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 20, 2025.
In exchange, Israel is set to release more than 600 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Earlier Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas will "pay the price" for failing to release the body of Bibas as prescribed by the peace agreement with Israel.
In a video statement, Netanyahu said "We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement."
Israel and Hamas are in the first phase of a ceasefire that began on Jan. 19. Talks on the second phase are scheduled to begin this week, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Hamas killed about 1,200 people in the October 2023 attack on Israel and took about 250 people as hostages. More than half of the captives have been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals, while eight were rescued in military operations.
Israel's air and ground war killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says the death toll includes 17,000 militants. The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced most of its population of 2.3 million.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.