The German government has slammed Palestinian extremist group Hamas over the “unbelievable perfidy and the unbelievable repulsiveness” on display when handing over the remains of Israeli hostages a day earlier.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office in Berlin said on Friday that it was hard to imagine “the hell that the family and relatives are going through right now.”
On Thursday, Hamas failed to hand over the remains of Shiri Bibas, a mother of two taken hostage by militants, despite a promise to do so.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the body Hamas had turned over was that of a Gazan woman, not Bibas as the militants had claimed.
The remains of Bibas’ two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, along with peace activist Oded Lifshitz, were released to Israel and their identities confirmed.
The spokesman in Berlin called on Hamas to release the other remaining hostages from Gaza and to shed light on their fates, with many of the remaining hostages held in the war-torn Palestinian territory believed to be dead.
The footage of handover ceremonies shows that Hamas continues to exercise strict control in the Gaza, the spokesman said, adding that Germany hoped that further hostages would still be released as planned. Six hostages are due be released on alive on Saturday.
