Israel’s youngest Hamas captive, one-year-old Kfir Bibas, is among the 34 hostages set for release, sparking hope for her safe return.
Kfir was abducted at the tender age of nine months during a violent Hamas raid on the Nir Oz Kibbutz in southern Israel. The terrorists took the entire family – Kfir, her older brother Ariel, and parents Shiri and Yarden.
Kfir celebrated her first birthday while in captivity on January 18, 2024, a poignant day referred to in Israeli circles as ‘the saddest birthday in the world’. Despite this, she now faces another birthday as a helpless hostage.
Now there is hope that the Bibas family’s could soon be released, as Kfir, Ariel -whom Hamas claimed had been killed a year ago- and Shiri have been named on a list of 34 hostages Hamas is prepared to free in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza.
But Israel has accused Hamas of ‘psychological terror’ for naming the hostages but not actually confirming whether they are alive. The list includes British Emily Damari, nine other woman, 11 men over the age of 50 and 11 people designated as sick.
Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that it was in fact a list of people he had requested to be freed last July, to which the Israeli government received no response.
An official from the Prime Minister’s office dismissed it as ‘spin’ to put pressure on Israel in negotiations and called on the media to ignore the ‘propaganda and psychological terror’.
‘They haven’t said who is alive and who is not; they haven’t sent any list,’ they said. ‘So, as far as we stand, there isn’t any progress.’
Kfir Bibas, then just nine months old, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed the Nir Oz Kibbutz in southern Israel where Kfir lived with his older brother Ariel, their mother Shiri and father Yarden
The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war
Bullet holes cover the bedroom wall of hostage Ariel Bibas, 4, at his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel
The Bibas family was taken on October 7 and footage was later released of a bleeding Yarden being driven into Gaza on a motorbike.
Grainy footage also captured the moment Shiri was dragged out of a white car as she clung onto baby Kfir.
Another shot showed Hamas militants directing the terrified mother towards a series of buildings and throwing a blanket over her head.
At the time of the footage release, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army was ‘very concerned’ about the family’s well-being. He said the army found the videos in security cameras seized during its offensive in Khan Younis.
Shiri’s parents, Margaret and Yosi Silverman, who lived on the same kibbutz, were murdered and their bodies found near the Gaza border. The Bibas family’s beloved dog, Tony, was also shot dead.
In horrifying video footage released in April last year, Kfir’s missing father Yarden was shown covered in blood and being beaten by a crowd of Palestinians while cheering terrorists drove him away on a motorbike on October 7.
The video was shared on social media by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who wrote: ‘The world must not remain silent in the face of such crimes. Bring them home now!’
Yarden is reported to have surrendered himself to the gunmen in the hope that they would take him and spare his wife and children. He is thought to be be alive in Gaza, but the fate of his family remains unclear.
Kfir and Ariel are the last child hostages still held by Hamas.
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz
Ariel Bibas is pictured here playing with bubbles. He was captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7
Grainy footage, released by the IDF with permission of the family and shared with MailOnline, shows a group the IDF identifies as Hamas members taking a woman out of a parked white car as she holds a young child or baby
Yarden Bibas is pictured on October 7 during his capture by Hamas in a picture that emerged before the latest video of him. He is bleeding from a head wound and has blood on his hands. His family members have not heard from him since
This comes as a Hamas source yesterday told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that Palestinian factions need another week to provide details on the condition of each hostage on the list.
Previously the terrorists have requested a ceasefire just to allow them to check who is alive.
The failure to give proof of life has proven one of the major sticking points in negotiations to date with fears Hamas have lost track of many of the captives.
But mediators are keen to build on the momentum with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken hoping to finally get a deal done before Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
‘We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining,’ he told a press conference in South Korea yesterday.
While nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, of which over half are hoped to be alive, Israel suggested a partial release of 40 last summer as the first phase of a ceasefire.
Since then five on that list were executed by Hamas – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarsuri, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat and Avraham Munder. Meanwhile one, Kaid Farhan al-Qadi, was rescued by the IDF.
Mediators had pushed for an initial partial release as a bridging proposal given Hamas demands a total withdrawal before freeing every hostage while Israel will not pull out until all captives are freed.
‘I am terrified that Emily and the other female hostages are exposed to the constant threat of sexual assault,’ Ms Damari said
Emily Damari (pictured before her capture) is believed to still be held in Hamas tunnels under Gaza after being kidnapped on October 7 last year
It is the first stage a of three-phase agreement that would end with a total ceasefire and IDF withdrawal.
Emily Damari, who is among those earmarked for release in Hamas’ list, was taken from her home of Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, where she was born and raised.
Her beloved golden cockapoo, Choocha, was shot dead in her arms, while the attack left her with a gunshot wound to the hand.
Emily is the only British hostage still held by Hamas and is believed to still be kept in the tunnels in Gaza.
