Hamas originally claimed in November 2023 the three members of the Bibas family had been killed in an Israeli air strike, without providing evidence. The BBC hasn't been able to independently verify this. Israel says it will not confirm their deaths before forensic testing.

Shiri Bibas, an Israeli woman, and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were said to be among those returned. A senior U.N. official called the Hamas display “abhorrent and cruel.”