The iconic Bibas children — Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2 — and their mother, Shiri, have been confirmed as being among the four dead hostages to be returned Thursday to Israel under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Their father, Yarden, was released alive several weeks ago, and did not know the fate of his wife or their two children.
Kfir was only 9 months old when the family was kidnapped by Palestinians on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The Bibas children and their mother had become symbols of the hostages as a whole, with their familiar red hair.
Demonstrators hold orange balloons at a rally in solidarity with Kfir Bibas, an Israeli boy who spent his first birthday Thursday in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. The plight of Bibas, the youngest hostage held by Hamas, has captured the nation’s attention and drawn attention to the government’s failure to bring home more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas after more than three months of war. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Hamas claimed long ago that the mother and children were dead, though Israel did not accept Hamas at its word.
Now, it appears Israel has confirmed the deaths of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir. The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday:
The Prime Minister’s Office confirms Israel has received the list of slain hostages who are set to be returned tomorrow.
It says the four are Shiri Bibas, Ariel Bibas, Kfri Bibas and [fellow Nir Oz resident, 84-year-old] Oded Lifshitz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned earlier that Thursday would be a day of grief for all Israelis:
Six living hostages are expected to be returned from Israel, including two that were kidnapped long before the war.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
