THE dad of the captive Bibas brothers is still desperately “clinging to hope” his young sons and wife will soon be released by their Hamas captors.
Yarden Bibas, a former hostage aged 34, regained his freedom recently after spending 484 days confined within the terror tunnels of Gaza. However, apprehensions regarding the health of his family persist as each day passes.
Baby Kfir, two, Ariel, five and Yarden’s wife, Shiri were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’ October 7 bloodbath.
Kfir was only nine months old when he was barbarically forced to spend the majority of his life as a Hamas prisoner.
Initially captured as a unit, the family’s ordeal saw Yarden Bibas swiftly isolated from his relatives and subjected to a grueling 15-month period of solitary suffering.
Yarden was finally released during a fragile ceasefire agreement, which has faced serious issues ever since starting in January.
But the rest of the Bibas family are yet to be seen publicly since their kidnapping.
The circumstances have sparked legitimate worries about the welfare of the trio, particularly given that the initial ceasefire agreement stipulated the release of children and women in the primary stage.
Yarden’s sister Ofri, who has been by her brother’s side ever since his freedom on February 1, says the family still believe they will be completely reunited again soon.
Ofri told Channel 12 news: “He understands that there is fear – fear for their lives, but he knows that there is no certainty, and he holds onto the hope.
“And we’ve held onto [that hope] for 15 months and we continue to hold onto it, and continue to expect them and to wait for them here at home.”
She continued: “He needs the certainty. We all do. To close the circle.
“We are asking for that from a place where we are still clinging to hope. We’re not giving up hope for a second, especially now he’s here with us.
“But yes, we want them home.”
It comes as Ofri also revealed that Yarden was lied to by his Hamas captors after they said his family was safe in Tel Aviv.
He was then told at the end of November 2023 that all three had died in captivity – a claim Hamas also publicly announced.
In November, the terror group said Shiri and her sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel has not verified the claims of any of the Bibas family with millions across the globe still hoping for their freedom.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari previously said that the IDF is “very concerned and worried” about the condition of the Bibas children and their mother.
In the days after Yarden’s release a family statement said “a quarter of our heart has returned to us” with the Bibas clan still being “incomplete”.
They added that despite the father’s safe return he has come back to an “unbearable reality” without his sons.
Yarden was finally discharged from Sheba Medical Center on Monday after completing all the necessary medical check ups.
It comes as freed Israeli captives have revealed they were chained, gagged and burned by Hamas thugs in a horrific campaign of abuse.
Innocent civilian captives are also reportedly being hung by their feet and starved while held in Gaza, according to the devastated mum of hostage Eliya Cohen.
Furious Donald Trump even said the latest releases “looked like Holocaust survivors”.
The US president said he was losing his patience with the hostage deal after seeing footage of Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, who appeared gaunt upon their release.
So far, 16 of the 33 hostages to be released have come home, as well as five Thai hostages who were returned in an unscheduled release.
In exchange, Israel has released hundreds of prisoners and detainees, ranging from prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks to Palestinians detained during the war and held without charge.
But Hamas has accused Israel of dragging its feet on allowing aid into Gaza, one of the conditions of the first phase of the agreement, a charge Israel has rejected as untrue.
What happened on October 7?
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival – killing at least 364 people there alone.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 16 months of devastation that followed.
