Israel and Hamas have reportedly decided to accelerate the pace of the hostage turnover and prisoner exchange to move forward with phase one of the ceasefire agreement. In this new development, Hamas has agreed to surrender the bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages, with speculation that these will include the bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, among others. The scheduled return of these bodies is expected to occur on Thursday.
Hamas says Kfir Bibas and Ariel, 2 and 5, and their mom are dead, and their bodies will be sent back to Israel this week pic.twitter.com/IlZextaDHU
— New York Post (@nypost) February 18, 2025
Meetings have been ongoing between representatives from Israel and Hamas, as well as mediators in Egypt, to finalize the details of the agreed terms of the ceasefire deal and expedite its implementation. The urgency of these discussions increased following a warning from President Donald Trump to Hamas, asserting that their gradual approach to releasing hostages was no longer acceptable. Trump’s warning emphasized that failure to release all hostages could lead to severe consequences.
‘All Hell is Going to Break Out’: Trump Puts Hamas on Notice in Fiery Oval Office Remarks
The recent agreement reached on Tuesday signifies that all living hostages involved in phase one will be reunited with their families by the upcoming Saturday. This group of six hostages includes Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two Israeli men who have been in Hamas captivity for more than ten years. Their release is one of the significant outcomes of the accelerated process.
The fate of the Bibas family has long been of great concern, especially when they were not part of the early hostage releases of women and children. Video of a clearly distressed Shiri Bibas cradling her two boys while surrounded by masked terrorists was one of the most disturbing images to emerge from October 7, and Hamas has cruelly withheld definitive information about the wellbeing of the mother and her two redheaded boys. Israel has also voiced “grave concern” for the safety of the family.
Shiri Bibas and her little children were kidnapped ALIVE.
They had better come back alive. pic.twitter.com/MurC9m8It2
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) January 15, 2025
Father Yarden Bibas, who was also brutally taken by Hamas on October 7, was part of the hostage release that took place February 1, and, upon his return to Israel, was met with the heartbreaking news that his wife and sons were likely dead. Yarden is reportedly not giving up hope that his family will return alive.Â
Jimmy Miller, Shiri Bibas’ cousin, shared with Ynet that the family draws strength from Yarden’s unwavering belief. “Yarden isn’t focusing on himself or what he went through,” Miller explained, “but on bringing his family back to Israel. He believes Hamas’ claims about Shiri and the children’s deaths are speculative. If he believes, who are we to doubt him?”
With phase one of the ceasefire coming to a close, Israel will allow heavy machinery to be brought into Gaza to clear away rubble and 300 mobile homes will be made available to house displaced Gazans. It’s not yet known when talks will begin on phase two terms, but Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya has said he’s eager to get negotiations underway as soon as possible. Whether or not the Trump administration will be actively involved in these negotiations also remains to be seen, but Trump’s warning is clearly ringing loudly in the ears of Hamas leaders.
A word of caution: Hamas has been less than forthcoming about the fate of Shiri Bibas and her red-headed boys, so, sadly, we won’t truly know the fates of these poor souls until they are actually returned to their homeland.Â
Update post-publication 2/18/25 11:40 a.m. ET: The Israel War Room account has posted a statement from the Bibas family:
The Bibas family:
“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…
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) February 18, 2025
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.Â
We ask the media and the public to respect our privacy and refrain from contacting us about this matter.”
