Israel said to demand Hamas clarify status of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two kids
Despite family being slated for release in first stage of ceasefire, mother and two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, remain in captivity in Gaza with grave concern for their lives
The Times of Israel
Jan 29, 2025
Israel has demanded that Hamas clarify the condition of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two small boys, Ariel and Kfir, whom the Palestinian terror group is holding in the Gaza Strip, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.
The three are set to be returned to Israel in the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal that halted the war started by Hamas in October 2023.
While women and children are to be freed first under the deal, bodies are to be handed over later in the deal. Fears for the fate of the Bibas trio have grown, as Hamas has not returned them among the first hostages released. Husband and father Yarden Bibas, who was abducted separately to Gaza, is slated to be released later in the deal’s first phase.
Hamas has said that 18 of the 26 hostages yet to be returned under the current phase are alive, without offering specifics on the condition of individuals.
The Bibas family members are among the highest-profile hostages still held in Gaza. Ariel, 5, and Kfir, who turned 2 earlier this month, are the only children left there, after a November 2023 deal that saw the release of more than 100 of the 251 people seized in the attack by Hamas terrorists the previous month, in which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, on the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
At the time, Hamas said the children had been killed along with their mother. Israel said it was investigating that “cruel” claim, but did not confirm it, and the IDF has since said that it has no intelligence to confirm their status.
There have been no signs of life from the boys since the day of their abduction, when they and their mother, Shiri, became an early face of the violence. A video that emerged of Shiri carrying her children as she was taken away by the terrorists quickly gained attention due to her visible distress, the children’s bright red hair, and Kfir’s young age — at 10 months old, the youngest Israeli abducted by Hamas.
After announcing their death in November 2023, Hamas released a video showing Yarden, their father, who had been told his family was dead. In February 2024, the IDF found more footage from surveillance cameras in Khan Younis of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel’s abduction.
The government is now said to be demanding a clear answer on the matter, in order to provide it to their family, multiple outlets reported.
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said last week that there are “grave concerns” for the lives of Shiri and her two children.
Relatives stated Monday that they are still holding onto hope that the Bibas family will return from captivity in Gaza, although Shiri and the boys should have been among the first seven civilian hostages, released in the last 10 days.
“We said then, and we say now: We hold on to hope and continue waiting for their return. We await clarity regarding their condition,” said the wider family in the statement.
Family hopes for their imminent return were dashed Saturday, when they were left off a list of hostages to be released later in the day.
Hamas had announced that it would release four captive female soldiers — Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev — in a breach of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, which requires the terror group to prioritize the release of civilian women and children.
After the release of the four, IDF spokesman Hagari said Hamas had violated the deal by not first freeing all female civilians. He said Israel would make sure that civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud, who is believed by Israel to be alive, is released soon, along with Shiri Bibas and her two small children.
Yehoud is now slated to be freed on Thursday, and a video with a sign of life from her was released, though the family requested that it not be published. Two other hostages, Agam Berger and Gadi Mozes, are also set to return. There has been no word on the Bibas family.
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