Hamas on Friday night handed over Shiri's body to the Red Cross, which in turn delivered the corpse to Israel for identification
“With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home,” according to a statement from the community.
“Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine [in Tel Aviv], we received this morning the news we had dreaded—our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister and all her family for rest.
“Despite our fears about their fate, we continued to hope that we would get to embrace them, and now we are in pain and heartbroken,” continued the statement. “For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure.”