Ariel and Kfir were the youngest hostages taken in Gaza on October 7 and their bodies will be returned to Israel by Hamas tomorrow
February 19, 2025 19:48
While each story that came out of October 7 moved the Israeli people, few touched the hearts of Jews in the way that the Bibas family did.
With their bright red hair and innocent features, the two Bibas boys in the arms of their mother became one of the most horrifying and recognisable victims of Hamas’s brutal attack, more than 500 days ago.
Since the outbreak of war, rumours swirled about their fate, with the family denying reports that they’d been killed in Israeli airstrikes. But now, Israel has confirmed that the bodies of the three Bibas family members still in Gaza are to be returned by Hamas.
Israeli-Argentinian/Peruvian Yarden Bibas and his wife Shiri, along with their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were among the hostages taken by Hamas during the assault.
Her husband Yarden and their two children, Ariel, aged four, and Kfir, aged nine months, were all taken by Hamas militants in separate incidents on October 7.
Shiri's parents, who also lived on the kibbutz, were later found killed.
Their abduction gained international attention as part of the broader efforts to bring hostages home, with advocates wearing orange in memory of the Bibas children.
The Bibas family lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest hit communities on October 7.
On the morning of the Hamas attack, Shiri’s abduction was captured in a widely circulated video showing being led into Gaza while holding her two boys. Multiple pictures found later showed Yarden, on the day of the attack, bleeding from the head, and being herded away by gunmen.
Following the attack, Israel expressed concern for the fate of the Bibas family, particularly as the months passed without confirmation of their condition.
In late 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video showing Shiri and her children alive, filmed a few days after their capture. This video provided some hope that the family had survived the initial stages of the abduction.
However, by the end of 2023, Hamas had claimed that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli authorities did not confirm these claims, stating only that they were “grave concerns” for their lives.
Yarden Bibas remained in captivity, unaware of the whereabouts or condition of his family. On February 1, 2025, Yarden was released as part of a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel.
While his release provided some relief, it also underscored the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fate of his wife and children.
On Tuesday, Hamas announced that it would return the remains of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir as part of a broader exchange of hostages' bodies.
This statement was met with further uncertainty by the Bibas family, who had not received official confirmation of their deaths. In a public statement, the “turmoil” felt over the news.
And on Thursday the remains of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were returned to Israel.
After the bodies were returned, Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a statement of forgiveness, saying: “Agony. Pain. There are no words. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters. On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely. May their memory be a blessing.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis sent his prayers to the Bibas family and to the Lifshitz family, as the body of Oded Lifshitz, the fourth hostage, is set to be returned to Israel on Thursday. He wrote: “It is pure evil to take a mother and her young children and an elderly man hostage. It takes another layer of evil to be responsible for their deaths. And yet a further layer of evil to trade their bodies to release hundreds of prisoners including terrorists serving life sentences for murder. This is what Israel is up against. Today, all decent people around the world mourn with Israel, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and the Bibas and Lifshitz families. With broken hearts, we pray for the return of all the hostages and a just and lasting peace.”
The UK embassy in Israel has expressed its "deep heartbreak" following the release of the bodies of four hostages by Hamas. In a statement on social media platform X, the embassy described it as a "stark reminder of the horrors Hamas inflicted on innocent people" on October 7.