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US issues warning to Hamas after they fail to return Shiri Bibas' body, says they'll ‘face total annihilation’ if…
Adam Boehler, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostages, demanded that all hostages, living or dead, be released immediately,
A US official has warned that Hamas would face “total annihilation” if all hostages were not returned to Israel. The warning comes after Hamas failed to return the body of Shiri Bibas.
Israel Defense Forces positively identified the bodies of Shiri’s children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as hostage Oded Lifshitz. However, they received another “anonymous, unidentified body,” instead of Shiri’s.
‘They are going to face total annihilation right now’
Adam Boehler, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostages, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “It’s horrific. It’s a clear violation and if I have one piece of advice for Hamas now, it’s ‘You need to release her body immediately’.”
Boehler demanded that all hostages, living or dead, be released immediately, including the bodies of four Americans killed while they were being held captive in the Gaza Strip, and Edan Alexander, a New Jersey native who is believed to be alive. “If I were (Hamas), I would release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation right now,” warned Boehler.
Boehler suggested that Israel should make demands of Hamas through “every country that’s coordinating” to get hostages back home.
Hamas carried out a propaganda-filled parade before handing over the four coffins on Thursday. However, Israeli officials revealed Shiri Bibas’ body was not inside any of the coffins.
“During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body,” the IDF said, as reported by New York Post.
“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages,” they added. “We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the remains belonged to a Gazan woman and not Shiri, and warned that Hamas would pay a “full price” for the “cruel and malicious violation” of the deal.
Boehler, too, called Hamas’ move a “violation” of the deal. “I don’t know what they thought when they put the body of somebody else in a coffin and said that it is the mother of two kids who had been brutally murdered,” he said. “Whether they thought Israel wouldn’t have found that or not, but it’s absolutely stunning.”
“The question is, why would they do this? I think probably the answer is, she was so brutally murdered that she is being hidden or the body has been disposed of and they can’t get her back,” he continued.
Boehler added, “I wouldn’t say they are sophisticated people, they’re brutal murderers and they didn’t think through it, quite frankly, I’m sure.”
Boehler went on to say that the Bibas family members were murdered by a “particularly militant splinter group.” “You’re talking about the worst of the worst here,” he said. “When you’re talking about worse than Hamas, but these are people who can brutally murder a 9-month-old and somebody who would be 4.”
To share the discovery on Thursday, Israeli officials called Boehler, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Based on available intelligence and forensic findings, Israeli forces believe the Bibas brothers were killed by Hamas terrorists in November 2023. At the time, Ariel was four years old and Kfir was 10 months old.
