The family of Shiri Bibas, a slain hostage returned under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement, has refused the attendance of any Israeli government officials at her funeral. The request, made by the family on Sunday, also applies to the funeral of her two children, who were also killed in the Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media reports, including Walla, the family expressed their desire for no government representatives to attend the funeral, which follows the return of the Bibas family’s remains by the Palestinian group Hamas under the ceasefire agreement. Hamas stated that the Bibas family was killed during Israeli bombings in the ongoing Gaza war.
In contrast, Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel is set to represent the government at the funeral of Oded Lifshitz, another returned hostage, on Tuesday.
The Bibas family’s accusations against the Israeli government go beyond funeral arrangements. On Friday, they accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages during the Gaza war and of failing to return them alive. Furthermore, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated that the Bibas family had not received any official information from the Israeli government regarding the exact circumstances surrounding the killings.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect last month, has temporarily halted the war that has caused the deaths of over 48,300 victims, primarily women and children, and left the region in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the Palestinian enclave.
