Kidnapping and killing of the Bibas family
Kidnapped Israeli family in the 7 October attack From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kidnapping and killing of the Bibas family | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Gaza war hostage crisis | |
Shiri Bibas holding her two young children during the kidnapping. Photo is a still from a body cam of one of the kidnappers. | |
| Location | Nir Oz, Israel |
| Date | 7 October 2023 |
Attack type | Kidnapping and killing |
| Accused | Lords of the Desert,[1] Mujahideen Brigades, and Hamas[2] |
During the Nir Oz attack, part of the 7 October 2023 attacks that began the Gaza war, Palestinian militants kidnapped the Bibas (Hebrew: בִּיבָּס) family from their home at the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel.[3][4] The family, which held multiple citizenships of Israel, Argentina, and Germany,[5] comprised 34-year-old Yemenite Jew Yarden (Hebrew: יַרְדֵּן), his 32-year-old wife Shiri (Hebrew: שִׁירִי; née Silberman), and their sons, 4-year-old Ariel (Hebrew: אֲרִיאֵל) and 9-month-old Kfir (Hebrew: כְּפִיר).[6][7][8] All four family members were held hostage in the Gaza Strip. Yarden Bibas was abducted separately from his wife and children and held by Hamas, while Shiri Bibas and her children were reportedly held by another militant group, the Mujahideen Brigades.[9] Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest hostages taken from Israel on 7 October, came to be regarded as symbols of the Gaza war hostage crisis.[10]
Shiri Bibas's parents, José Luis (Yossi) Silberman and Margit Shnaider Silberman, were both killed in the Nir Oz attack.[11] In late 2023, Hamas said that Shiri Bibas and her children had been killed by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. On 30 November 2023—the last day of the 2023 Gaza war ceasefire—it offered to return their bodies and release Yarden Bibas, but Israel refused, demanding that all living female hostages be released first.[12][13] Israel did not confirm the deaths of Shiri Bibas and her sons, but expressed grave concerns over their welfare.[14][15] As part of the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Hamas released Yarden Bibas alive on 1 February 2025.[16] On 20 February, it handed over coffins that it said contained the bodies of his wife and sons.[17][18] Israel verified the remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas through DNA testing, but stated that the female remains handed over were of an unidentified Palestinian woman, not Shiri Bibas.[19] Israeli authorities accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement and demanded that it return the correct body.[20][21] Hamas handed over another body on the evening of 21 February,[22] which subsequent DNA testing confirmed as that of Shiri Bibas.[19] Argentina held two days of national mourning.[23] To mark the funeral of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas on 26 February, buildings and monuments around the world were illuminated in orange, the colour of the children's hair.[24] Shiri Bibas and her children were buried alongside her parents in Tsoher Regional Cemetery, near their former home.[25][26][27]
Hamas and Israel have made conflicting statements about the cause of death for Shiri Bibas and her children. Hamas said they were killed by an Israeli airstrike in November 2023, but did not provide any evidence to support their claims.[11][28] The Israeli government said that forensic evidence indicated they were killed by their captors,[20] and that their corpses were then mutilated to simulate injuries from a bombing.[26] Israel said it had shared evidence with its international partners, but did not publicly release the evidence. Hamas accused Israel of fabricating "baseless lies".[11]
Abduction
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Prior to the attack, the family had considered moving to the Golan Heights because they were tired of living in constant fear due to their proximity to Gaza and associated rocket attacks.[29]
On the day of the attack, Yarden Bibas texted his sister to update her on the fighting at and around the Nir Oz kibbutz.[30] At around 6:30 a.m., he sent her a message mentioning rocket fire, and then that the militants had entered the kibbutz. He expressed concern that his children did not know how to keep quiet. A video later showed Hamas militants drilling open the front door of the Bibas home. At about 9:45 a.m., Yarden texted "They're in", shortly after having texted "I love you" to his family.[29]
Yarden Bibas had reportedly hesitated to use the gun in the home due to the number of militants with automatic weapons.[31] He left the family's safe room, reportedly to distract the militants in an attempt to save his wife and children. He was then captured separately from the rest of his family.[32]
Media footage of the kidnapping was circulated online, including a video of Shiri holding her redheaded children in her arms, looking terrified as militants surrounded them. Separate images showed Yarden bleeding from the head, being taken away on a motorcycle by militants.[29][33]
Shiri's father José Luis (Yossi) Silberman, and his wife, Margit Srehnaider Silberman, had moved to Israel from Peru in the 1970s. Yossi Silberman was originally from Argentina. Both of the Silbermans were in their 60s. The Silbermans were later found dead and officially identified as deceased on 21 October.[34][33][35] Shiri and her two children also had German citizenship.[36]
Israel said that Shiri and her children had been kidnapped by a Palestinian crime gang from Khan Younis called "Lords of the Desert".[37][38] Israel expressed concern that Shiri and the children had been transferred to a different armed group within Gaza, the Mujahideen Brigades of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement.[39]
Following his abduction, Yarden Bibas reportedly asked his captors on numerous occasions about his wife and children. In one instance his captors told Bibas that his family had evaded capture and had been spotted in Tel Aviv. In another case, his captors demanded that another hostage tell him that his family had died. Hamas filmed Yarden breaking down upon hearing this and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[32][40]
Efforts to release
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Israelis taking the cause of the Bibas family
A protestor in front of the private residence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog recreating the still image from the bodycam video.[a]
– August 2024
– August 2024
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog displaying a picture of Kfir Bibas on his birthday during the World Economic Forum – January 2024
A march commemorating Ariel Bibas's 5th birthday – August 2024
Release of orange balloons (to symbolize the color of the children's hair) from Hostages Square
– December 2023
– December 2023
On 7 October 2023, the deputy chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, said that Palestinians had abducted Israelis so they could force Israel to release thousands of Palestinians (including 200 women and children) in Israeli custody.[41][42] On 9 October, Hamas offered to release all civilian hostages in exchange for Israeli army not entering Gaza, but the Israeli government rejected the offer.[43] On 17 October 2023, a Hamas official said it would release all civilian (but not military) hostages in exchange for Israel ending the bombing of the Gaza Strip.[44] On 19 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Hamas for conditioning the release of Israelis upon Israel's release of Palestinians, arguing "civilians, including children ... should never be treated as bargaining chips."[45]
On 22 November 2023, Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons, in exchange for Hamas agreeing to release 50 Israeli women and children.[46] Shiri and her children were expected to be released, but were not released. On 29 November, Hamas' armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, claimed that Shiri and her children had been killed in Israeli bombing of Gaza.[47] Israel said that Hamas's claims were unverified and could be part of their psychological warfare.[48][49][50]
On 30 November 2023, Hamas offered to release Yarden along with the bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel. This offer was confirmed by Israeli officials and Arab diplomats.[12] Israel refused, demanding that living female hostages be returned before the dead bodies.[12] On the same day, Hamas also clarified that Shiri, Kfir and Ariel had been killed by Israeli airstrikes before the truce went into effect.[13] The IDF responded that "Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages".[13]
A cousin of the Bibas family requested to speak with US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to petition them for help in the release of the family. He also mentioned that they were working with the Argentinian government to help petition for the release of the family.[51] In early December 2023 per Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, all Israeli embassies and consulates either lit their buildings in orange or displayed images of the family. The display was supposed to coincide with the first lighting of Hanukkah candles.[52]
Around Kfir Bibas's first birthday in January 2024, family members celebrated his (18 January) birthday and raised awareness for the family still reportedly held as hostages. Hundreds of people gathered at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate Kfir and his family with a performance by Israeli children's music stars and wore orange to symbolize the two children's hair.[53] Kfir's picture was also seen next to Israeli President Isaac Herzog while he spoke at the World Economic Forum that same week.[54] On 19 February, the Israeli military released a video which purportedly showed members of the Bibas family in the Khan Younis area.[55]
In August 2024, during the Redhead Days Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, which is known for celebrating people with auburn hair, members of the Bibas family urged participants to spotlight the Bibas children and to raise awareness about their continued time as hostages.[56]
Release and return of bodies
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On 28 January 2025, a group supporting the family asked for the public to wear orange in honor of the family.[57] Israeli officials asked on 29 January that Hamas provide more information on the condition of Shiri Bibas and the two children.[58]
Release of Yarden Bibas
On 31 January, Hamas announced that they would release Yarden Bibas on 1 February as part of the fourth round of releases in the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire agreement. The status of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas was unclear at the time of his release, although they had not been included in earlier releases that prioritized living women and children.[59]
Yarden Bibas was released on 1 February. During his captivity, he had lost 15 kilograms (33 lb). He told Israeli authorities that he had been starved and not given any food on some days. He reported that he had mostly been held in isolation in an underground cell, rarely seeing sunlight. He was allowed to meet other hostages only during meals. He requested to be held with an old friend that he met during his time in captivity, but his request was denied.[32]
Return of the bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir
On 18 February, a Hamas spokesperson announced that the bodies of four hostages, including the remaining members of the Bibas family, would be released on 20 February, as part of the seventh round of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.[60]
On 20 February, Hamas released four bodies, reported to be of Ariel, Kfir, Shiri, and a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, who had also been kidnapped during the Nir Oz attack.[61][62][21] The four bodies were taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification.[63] Israel forensically confirmed the bodies of Ariel, Kfir, and Lifshitz, but it also confirmed that the fourth body did not belong to Shiri or any other Israeli hostage held by Hamas.[61] Hamas acknowledged the possibility of a mistake, adding that corpses had been "mixed up" due to Israeli bombings.[28] Shiri Bibas's remains were handed over separately the following day.[64]
The handover was performed as a two-step process, with the first step being a handover of coffins from Hamas to the Red Cross, and the second involving a handover from the Red Cross to the IDF. In the first step, the four coffins were brought to a stage in Khan Yunis, wrapped in black with labels bearing the deceased family members' names and pictures. They were placed before a poster that portrayed Netanyahu as a vampire, with the four deceased superimposed. The poster blamed Netanyahu and Israel for their deaths. In the second step, a rabbi conducted a ceremony upon receipt of the coffins and they were transported into Israel draped in Israeli flags. Israeli citizens lined the roads near the Gaza border to watch the convoy and pay their respects, as well as gathering in Hostages Square.[65][66]
Israel screened the coffins through metal detectors to ensure they were not booby-trapped.[67] Upon opening the coffins, investigators reportedly discovered Hamas propaganda, which Israel considered "a desecration of the sanctity of the dead". Israel filed a complaint with Egypt, Qatar and the United States, who helped negotiate the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.[68]
Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement by returning a body that was not that of Shiri Bibas.[69][70] Hamas acknowledged "seriousness and full commitment to all our obligations" and said it remained committed to compliance.[70] It asked Israel to return the body of the Palestinian woman that had been inside the coffin marked as Shiri Bibas.[71][72]
The Bibas children were the last Israeli children held by Hamas, and Shiri was the last Israeli woman held by Hamas whose death had not been confirmed by Israel.[c][73]
The funeral of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas took place on 26 February 2025. Thousands of Israelis lined the route of the funeral procession. Eulogies were broadcast on Israeli television and streamed over the Internet.[26][27] In a private ceremony, they were buried alongside Shiri Bibas's parents in Tsoher Regional Cemetery, near their former home in Nir Oz kibbutz. Shiri Bibas and her two children were all buried in the same casket.[25][74]
On the day of the funeral, monuments around the world, including the Empire State Building, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Chain Bridge in Budapest were lit with orange as a tribute to Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.[75][76]
Cause of death
Following the return of the remains, Israel stated that a forensic analysis showed that Ariel and Kfir Bibas had been killed with “bare hands” in November 2023.[48][61] According to Israel, the forensic analysis showed that Shiri Bibas had been "brutally murdered" together with her children,[77] and that the corpses had then been mutilated to make it appear as if they died in a bombing.[77][26] Israel stated that it had shared evidence of these claims with its international partners, but it did not publicly release the evidence.[64][77] The Bibas family sent a cease-and-desist letter to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials, demanding that they stop publicly disclosing additional information about how the family members died, beyond details already released by the IDF and approved by Yarden Bibas.[78] Hamas, which states that Shiri Bibas and her children died in an Israeli airstrike, has not provided any evidence to substantiate its claims.[20][28][79][80] Hamas described the Israeli claims as "baseless lies".[11]
Response
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[W]e are appalled and horrified by their [Hamas's] desecration of the remains of Shiri Bibas. This is a gruesome scene, and we join the people of Israel in mourning the loss of several members of the Bibas family. Kfir was not even a year old when he was taken, along with his four-year-old brother Ariel. They were cruelly murdered by Hamas.
Dorothy Shea, United States Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the United Nations, 25 February 2025 remarks delivered to the UN Security Council Briefing[81]
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After Yarden was released, the Bibas family issued a statement that "a quarter of our heart has returned... but the home remains incomplete".[82] His family also thanked the Israeli public for its support and concern, and that while he had lost a significant amount of weight he was in good spirits and physically stable.[83]
Following the release of the bodies of Ariel and Kfir, Israeli president Isaac Herzog issued a statement saying that the "hearts of an entire nation line in tatters" and spoke directly to the deceased stating that he bowed his head and asked for forgiveness in not protecting them or bringing them home safe.[65]
Argentine President Javier Milei declared two days of national mourning beginning on 20 February following the return of the bodies, as the Bibas children held Argentine citizenship. Sabrina Ajmechet, President of the Argentinian Commission for Human Rights, wrote: "Two Argentinian babies assassinated because of Hamas terrorism. I hope that never again, after this, I have to hear that what happens in Israel and Gaza is not our concern, of all Argentines".[84][85]
Buenos Aires councilmember Yamil Santoro proposed to rename "Palestine Street" to "Bibas Family Street". President Milei expressed support for the proposal, but others suggested to rename a park, rather than Palestine Street, as a tribute to the Bibas Family.[86]
The Arab-Israeli group Atidna condemned Hamas following the murders of Shiri Bibas and her two children, describing the crime as "an act of barbarism that has no justification". The group called on Arab Israeli political leaders to denounce terrorism, emphasizing, "At such a crucial moment, silence is not an option—our duty as leaders and as a society is to speak out clearly and firmly against murder and terror", and it declared its participation in the Bibas family funeral procession by stating, "We will declare in one united voice: No to terror, no to murder, yes to life and humanity".[87]
On 25 February 2025, during an address to the United Nations Security Council, Dorothy Shea, acting ambassador of the United States to the United Nations condemned Hamas for the murder of Shiri Bibas and her children, as well as mishandling of Shiri's body.[81]
In response to a question whether Hamas is responsible for the deaths of the children, French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan responded "would there have been Hamas and, in particular, the attacks of the 7th, if there had not been an illegal occupation and an illegal blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for decades?", suggesting that those were the reasons for the deaths of the children.[88]
Art inspired by the case
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Street art in Israel
Whole family, street art in Tel Aviv
Kfir Bibas, street art in Tel Aviv
Ariel Bibas, street art in Tel Aviv
Shiri with her two children, street art in Haifa
Bibas children, street art in Ashdod
Kfir Bibas during his first birthday, street art in the Kiryat Hamelacha neighborhood of Tel Aviv
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Other visual arts
A sculpture recreation of the still photo taken from the body cam of one of the kidnappers during the kidnapping
Shiri holding her two children on a display by the World Zionist Organization at Hostage Square.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000CB-QINU`"'
Kfir Bibas behind bars'"`UNIQ--ref-000000CC-QINU`"'
A table at a coffee shop at Habima Square set as reserved for the Bibas family
A banner with a painting of Shiri and the children on display on the day of their funeral'"`UNIQ--ref-000000CD-QINU`"'
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Use of the color orange, the hair color of the Bibas children, to show solidarity with the family
Sculpture in Ashdod lit up in orange'"`UNIQ--ref-000000D1-QINU`"'
in January 2024, intended to coincide with what would have been Kfir's first birthday.
Beit HaNassi being lit up in orange, February 26, 2025, the day of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir's funeral.
An image distributed by the government of Israel in which the Flag of Israel is colored orange
_was_lit_up_in_orange.jpg)
See also
Notes
- Translation of message on whiteboard: "I thank all the People of Israel for their support and help. I heard from my family that you fought for me, and want to say many thanks. I deeply appreciate it. It's not self-evident. Happy birthday, Grandpa!"
- The bodies of three other women were still held by Hamas at the time that Shiri's body was returned to Israel: Judith Weinstein, Ofra Keidar, and Inbar Hayman. Israel had declared that Weinstein and Keidar died on the day of their abduction, with Hayman having died in captivity.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000A1-QINU`"'
References
External links
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