 "The heartbreaking tale of 9-month-old Kfir and 4-yr-old Ariel Bibas, hostages whose bodies Hamas will release")
Hamas will turn over the bodies of an Israeli mother and her two young sons on Thursday (February 20), who were taken hostage during the Palestinian armed group’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Shiri Bibas, who was 32 at the time, and her children – Ariel and Kfir – are among the four dead Israeli hostages whose bodies will be handed over by Hamas.
Kfir and Ariel were the youngest people to be captured by the group and taken to Gaza. Israel has not confirmed the deaths of the three Bibas family members.
Hamas has released 19 living Israeli hostages in recent weeks as part of phase one of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Let’s take a closer look.
Who were Kfir and Ariel Bibas?
Kfir Bibas and his brother Ariel were aged nine months and four years, respectively, when they were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The redheaded boys became the youngest people to be taken by the Palestinian armed group to Gaza.
The capture of the Bibas family haunted Israel, symbolising the hostage crisis. Kfir’s picture has been featured in posters calling for the release of the hostages taken to Gaza.
In the photo displayed in Israel and the world, the toddler can be seen holding a pink elephant toy and staring directly at the camera with a toothless smile.
As New York Times (NYT) noted, the campaign for the release of the Bibas family had orange balloons to represent the redheaded boys and references to Ariel’s favourite character – Batman.
The Bibas family was kidnapped from their home in Nir Oz, one of the worst-hit communities.
Shiri’s husband Yarden Bibas was captured separately. He, along with his family, was taken from a safe room where he was hiding from Hamas fighters.
Speaking to NYT in November 2023, Eylon Keshet, Yarden’s cousin, said Ariel loved playing with toy tractors and cars. He said Kfir was a “chill” baby who had just started eating solid food.
How did the children die?
In November 2023, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement claiming Shiri Bibas and her young children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The group also put out a video of the father, Yarden, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their deaths, as per CNN.
An Israeli military spokesperson at the time described the video as “psychological terror”. But a spokesperson for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that the military has told relatives that the young children and their mother may not be alive.
While Israel has not officially announced their deaths, the Israeli military said last month it was “gravely concerned” about them.
Yarden Bibas was released alive this month by Hamas. But his family was not.
On Tuesday (February 18), Hamas said it would release the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including Kfir and Ariel and their mother, Shiri Bibas. The group’s negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said in a statement that the Palestinian group had agreed “handing over four bodies of the occupation prisoners on Thursday [February 20], including the bodies of the Bibas family”.
Hamas will also release six living hostages on Saturday, double than originally planned. Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu are the ones to be freed later in the week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
As per the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office’s statement on Tuesday, “four additional slain hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel next week.”
Israel will release all Palestinian women and those under the age of 19 arrested since last October in exchange. It will also allow rubble-clearing equipment to enter Gaza through the border with Egypt.
An Israeli official told Reuters that the deceased hostages would first undergo identification before being named.
The Bibas family said in a statement: “In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil following Hamas spokesperson’s announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday as part of the hostages’ remains release phase.
“We want to make it clear that while we are aware of these reports, we have not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter. Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over.”
“We are still clinging to hope,” Jimmy Miller, a relative of the Bibas family, said in a radio interview this week. “We are hoping for tears of joy, rather than tears of sorrow.”
Second phase of ceasefire
Talks on advancing to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire were to begin earlier this month. However, they are not yet underway.
The first phase included a 42-day truce and the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Under the second phase, the remaining 64 hostages would be freed and the war would come to an end permanently.
However, negotiations are not easy for this phase as it includes issues like the administration of post-war Gaza.
“We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organisation in Gaza,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a press conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday. However, he added that Israel could prolong the ceasefire if discussions were productive.
Hamas has rejected Israel’s demand for its disarmament and removal from the narrow enclave.
With inputs from agencies
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