US official threatens Hamas over remains it said were not those of prisoner as pledged
'If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation,' says US hostage envoy
Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, take precautions around the cemetery in Bani Suheila municipality as the bodies of the Bibas family (three members) and Oded Lifshitz are handed over to the Red Cross teams under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap agreement in Khan Yunis Governorate, Gaza on February 20, 2025.
ANKARA
A senior US official issued a warning on Friday to Palestinian group Hamas after the Israeli army claimed the group had returned an unidentified body instead of that of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas.
Adam Boehler, the US envoy for hostages, condemned Hamas’ alleged actions, calling them “horrific” and a “clear violation” of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking to CNN, Boehler escalated his rhetoric — echoing earlier threats by President Donald Trump against Hamas — saying: “If I were them, I’d release everybody or they are going to face total annihilation.”
His remarks come amid claims from the Israeli army that forensic analysis found the remains received were not those of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas said it handed over the bodies of Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, in the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
The Palestinian group said the Israeli captives had been killed by indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes during the 15-month genocide in the enclave.
The ceasefire deal took effect last month, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed at least 48,000 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
