Children’s Bodies Identified, The Third Body Is Not That Of Shiri Bibas
Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic medicine, in collaboration with Israeli police, IDF representatives informed the Bibas family on Thursday night (20th) that their loved ones, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, have been identified.
“According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists in captivity in November 2023,” said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. This refutes the claim by terrorist organizations in Gaza that the Bibas family was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received was not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.
“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages,” the IDF said.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bibas family during this incredibly difficult time and remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure Shiri and all the hostages are brought home at the earliest opportunity,” said the IDF.
Officials in the IDF stated that the body of the anonymous woman was examined multiple times. She reportedly arrived wearing clothing and in a condition that clearly indicated she was not Shiri Bibas,
The IDF attempted to perform DNA matches with all the other female hostages held by Hamas, and there was no match to any of them.
The sources clarified that Hamas’ violation will be dealt with severely, but for now, the hostage release which is scheduled for Saturday (22nd) is expected to proceed as planned without any changes.
Ariel Bibas was four-years-old at the time of his death, and Kfir Bibas was ten months old at the time of his death. They were abducted with their mother, Shiri Bibas, from their home in Nir Oz. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, went out to protect them and was abducted prior to the kidnapping of Shiri and the children. Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on February 1, 2015.
3 Buses Explode In Bat Yam, Holon In Suspected Strategically Planned Terror Attack
Three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon on Thursday night (20th) in what police said was a suspected terror attack.
There were no injuries reported in the incidents. Police said they neutralized two other unexploded devices on buses nearby. According to Hebrew media reports, the last two devices were in Holon.
Each of the devices contained 5 kilograms of explosives, the media report stated.
Police said they were combing the scenes and searching for suspects, while bomb sappers were hunting for any other suspicious items in the vicinity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the premier was receiving constant updates on the situation and held a security assessment late Thursday night (20th), after which it announced that he instructed the IDF to embark on a massive operation in the West Bank against terrorist hubs.
It said he also instructed the police and Shin Bet to “increase preventive activities” in Israeli cities to prevent further attacks.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev earlier issued an order to the head of the Transportation Authority to halt service and conduct a search of all buses, trains and light rails. Regev was reported to be cutting short a visit to Morocco amid the incident.
Speaking to reporters in Bat Yam, Haim Sargarof, the Tel Aviv District police chief, said that the devices had timers but they were improvised explosives, and that the attack “looks like something that originated in the West Bank.
Sargarof said there was “something written” on the devices, without elaborating, apparently referencing media reports of a written “revenge threat” from the West Bank city of Tulkarem on one or more of the devices. He said that he did not know how many suspects were involved in planning the attack. Police sources told Hebrew media later Thursday (20th) that they suspected the attack involved a West Bank terror cell.
“The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten so long as the occupier is present on our land. This is a jihad of either victory or martyrdom,” said a statement on a Telegram channel claiming to represent Hamas’ so-called Tulkarem Battalion, which did not directly claim responsibility for the blasts.
According to a Channel 12 news report, the devices were slated to explode on Friday morning (21st), when the buses were in use, but were set off early. Giora Eiland , a former IDF operations chief, speculated that the timers were incorrectly set.
The network also reported that one of the undetonated devices was found due to an alarm from a passenger, who notified the driver of a suspicious bag, and that police believe several suspects were involved in planting the bombs.
“We may be lucky if indeed the terrorists set these timers to the wrong hour,” police spokesman Aryeh Doron said. “But it’s too early to determine.”
In a statement , the Bat Yam municipality said that “miraculously , the buses arrived at the parking lots a moment before the explosions,” and were already empty of the passengers.
Bus drivers nationwide were reportedly told to search their vehicles before setting off in light of the attack. Security was bolstered at Ben Gurion Airport, including with stringent checks of all buses entering and leaving the airport area. Security was also bolstered for Jerusalem’s light rail, the news media said.
Before Netanyahu issued his statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz had said that he instructed the IDF to ramp up its operations in the West Bank.
“In light of the severe terror attack attempts in the Tel Aviv area by Palestinian terror organizations against the civilian population in Israel, I instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of the counterterrorism activity in Tulkeram and all the camps in Judea and Samaria” he said in a statement.
“We will hunt down the terrorists to the bitter end and destroy the terror infrastructure in the camps used as frontline posts of the Iranian evil axis,” Katz added. “Residents who give shelter to terror will pay a heavy price.”
The IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank dubbed Operation Iron Wall since January 21.
Following Katz’s statement, the military said it was investigating the bus bombings jointly with the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police, adding that after a fresh assessment, the IDF’s ongoing counterterrorism operation in the West Bank would be focused on specific areas per the findings of the probe.
The IDF has also blocked several checkpoints leading into the West Bank and is ramping up activities in the so-called seam zone, between the Green Line and Israel’s West Bank barrier.
It also announced three more battalions will be deployed as reinforcements to the West Bank after holding a situational assessment.
The military said that it was constantly assessing and is “prepared to expand the offensive operations,” while adding, “the counterterrorism mission in northern Samaria is continuing all the time,” using the biblical name for the northern West Bank.
On Syrian-Lebanese Border: IAF Strikes Crossing Points Used By Hezbollah To Smuggle Weapons
The IAF on Thursday evening (20th) struck crossing points in the area of the Lebanon-Syria border used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanese territory.
“These activities constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF continues to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel and will operate to prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild its forces,” said the IDF spokesperson’s unit.
The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported Israeli strikes on the Syrian city of Homs, which it said were carried out through Lebanese airspace. An attack was also reported in the Wadi Khalid area in northern Lebanon.
On Tuesday evening (18th), the IAF struck weapons belonging to the Old Syrian regime in the area of Sasa in southern Syria. The strike targeted three Syrian army tanks which contained weapons, and took place about 20 km from the border with Israel.
The attack was intended to prevent the tanks from falling into the hands of the new Syrian regime or terrorist organizations operating in the area.
“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
UN Finally Condemns Hamas, Says Ceremony Over Hostage Bodies May Have Violated International Law
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk criticized Hamas for the ceremony it held during the release of the bodies of four hostages on Thursday (20th).
“Under international law, any handover of the remains of the deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” the rights chief said in a statement.
The captives included 85-year-old Oded Lifshitz, 33-year-old Shiri Bibas,(although the body sent was an anonymous woman, and not Shiri, forensics discovered later), and her two sons – the youngest Israelis taken hostage by Gazan terrorists on Oct.7 – Ariel and Kfir.
At an event held by Hamas in the Bani Suhella neighborhood of the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Thursday morning (20th), a large crowd cheered as Hamas arrived carrying four black coffins in separate cars.
“As the bodies of the four Israeli hostages were transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, hundreds of Gazans danced to music and happily filmed the tragic event,” Israel’s Government Press Office wrote on X. “We are at a loss for words to describe how this makes us feel,”
During the transfer of the bodies, a heated exchange took place between Red Cross officials and Hamas terrorists over the ceremony and the manner in which the transfer was handled.
Israel also protested to the mediators and filed a complaint with the Red Cross about the ceremony.
“The pain is indescribable. Our hearts, those of the entire nation, are shattered,” President Isaac Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I lower my head and seek forgiveness for failing to protect you on that tragic day, and not bringing you home safely. May your memory be a blessing.”
What Is The Cost Of Arab Hate For Israel And Jews? – Samuel M. Edelman
The Arab and Islamic world needs to confront the cost to Arab society of its unrelenting pursuit of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred. The pursuit of unrelenting hatred of Jews and their only country by Iran, Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah is what led to the attack on Israel on Oct. 7. For more than 100 years, Arab, Turkish, Syrian, and Iranian governments, Islamic militants, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, ISIS, various Shiite militias and Iranian proxies, as well as Palestinian Arabs, have waged war against both Israel and the Jewish people.
This warfare includes a propaganda war, an academic war, economic and intellectual boycotts, a war using the UN and various so-called humanitarian and aid organizations, and a media war.
The Arab world population in 2023 was over 473 million (5.9% of the world population) in 22 nations that make up the Arab League. About 20 million Arabs live abroad. The worldwide Jewish population in 2024 is just 16 million (0.2% of the world population), with 7.6 million Jews in Israel. Why does such a small Jewish population get so much attention?
Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIS have all portrayed Jews and Israel as the root of all the bad that has befallen the Arab and Islamic world. They have made their hatred of Jews an integral part of their religion, culture, history and policy. They have squandered billions of dollars and thousands and thousands of lives pursuing their cultivated hatred.
So my questions to the Arab population are simple ones. What is the cost of your hate of Israel and the Jews? Are you better off because of all of the war, destruction, and chaos caused by your inability to simply say that you will live in peace and accept as neighbors the indigenous Jews living in the Land of Israel?
The writer is former executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.
Egyptian Media: Hamas Brought Disaster Upon Gaza, Must Be Held To Account
Recent articles and statements in the Egyptian media criticized Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack, as well as its claims of victory in its war with Israel. On Feb. 17,Gamal Abu Al Hassan, a columnist for Al-Masri Al-Yawm, called on Hamas to acknowledge that it has lost the war and brought disaster upon the Palestinians and the region, and that only by relinquishing power will it be able to Thwart Trump’s plan for Gaza. “Victory parades can’t reverse the outcomes of the war.”
On Feb. 5, Ahmad Abd Al-Wahhab wrote in Akhbar Al-Yawm that rebuilding Gaza will take years and “obliges Hamas to give up its ambition to govern Gaza… The unbearable price of the destruction of buildings, the killing of civilians and the imprisonment of hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza results from Hamas’ reckless decision.”
On Feb, 12, Al Sayyed Al-Babill, writing in Al-Gumhouriyya, endorsed the Friday sermon of Salafi preacher Adel Al-Sayyed, who “voiced the belief held by many, that Oct. 7 was not a victory of the resistance, not a success that pushed Israel to accept an arrangement, and not a step forward to help the Palestinian cause, but rather a step which set the Palestinian cause back decades.”
On Feb. 19, Issam Abu Bakr wrote in Al-Wafd, “In the diplomatic and international arena there is no longer any place for movements like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis… Hamas is now rejected in the local, regional and international arenas. Its resurgence as a political force is now almost impossible, no matter how much it tries to spread absurd slogans of victory via the media, which is full of lies – because the Palestinian people understand the reality and are well-aware of the situation. Hamas and Hezbollah rely primarily on Iranian assistance, but Iran is now in a difficult situation itself and will not be able to revive the influence of political Islam in the Middle East.” (MEMRI)
