(Reuters) - Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday the remains of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas appear to have been mixed with other human remains from the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the place she was held in.

Ariel and Kfir Bibas — two of the youngest hostages held in Gaza — became a symbol for Israelis of the brutality of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The return of their bodies Thursday dashed hopes they had survived captivity and struck another blow to a nation still reeling from the militants' assault.

The Israeli military said that the body released by Hamas and purported to be of Shiri Bibas did not match, "this is an anonymous, unidentified body.”