Hamas has claimed that Israel’s youngest hostage Kfir Bibas is dead, along with his mother and brother, leaving the family in turmoil.
Kfir was only nine months old when Hamas terrorists abducted him on October 7, 2023. His mother Shiri, father Yarden, and four-year-old brother Ariel were also taken.
A video of the abduction showed Shiri swaddling her two young sons in a blanket and being whisked away by armed men.
Yarden Bibas was recently released, but his wife and sons remain in captivity. Hamas claimed in late 2023 that Shiri and the children were killed in Israeli bombings. However, the family asserts that they have not been officially informed of their deaths.
The family expressed their distress over Hamas’ statement about the planned return of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, scheduled for the following Thursday. They emphasized that they have not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter.
Israel has said it is gravely concerned about Shiri and her children, but has not confirmed their deaths. The Bibas family has become a symbol of Israeli suffering in the war.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in pre-recorded remarks on Tuesday, said the bodies of four hostages would be returned on Thursday and that the release of the six living hostages would follow on Saturday. He did not elaborate beyond saying that the Bibas family would be included in the handover of four bodies.
The six hostages to be released on Saturday are Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. They are the last living hostages to be freed under the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza.
The hostage releases have come in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel and Hamas have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which the terrorist group would release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas says it will release the body of Israel’s youngest hostage Kfir Bibas (pictured) on Saturday
Yarden’s wife, Shiri, 32, appears distraught as she clutches both of her young sons in this grainy photo during their abduction by Hamas on October 7
The fate of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, reflected the feeling of helplessness as dozens of hostages remain in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. Shiri Bibas is pictured holding her son Kfir
Ariel Bibas (pictured) was four when he was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 terror attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that a deal with Hamas was reached in Cairo on Tuesday to bring forward the release of Israeli hostages over the weekend, but stopped short at naming any of them.
An Israeli official said deceased hostages will undergo identification in Israel before they are named.
Hamas will free six living hostages, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, instead of only three who were slated for release.
Four bodies of deceased hostages will be handed over on Thursday followed by four next week, Netanyahu’s statement said.
Three hostages had been expected to be freed on Saturday. It was not immediately clear why Hamas changed the plan.
But an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Netanyahu had agreed to allow long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza as part of efforts to accelerate the hostages’ release.
Hamas last week threatened to hold up the release of hostages, citing the refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment among other alleged violations of the truce.
Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks, in exchange for the hostages. Others were detained without charge.
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
Yarden Bibas is pictured together with his sister and father aboard a military helicopter on their way to Sheba hospital in Ramat Gan on February 1, 2025
Yarden Bibas is pictured with his mother, father and sister on February 1, 2025 at the Tel-Hashomer Sheba medical center following his release
The ceasefire that began in mid-January has paused the deadliest fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, surged aid into devastated Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes as Israeli forces withdrew from much of the territory.
Israelis and Palestinians marked 500 days of war on Monday, with experts warning that there major challenges are ahead.
Israel’s government says it wants to eliminate Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in Gaza. But the terrorist group quickly reasserted its control of the territory during the ceasefire despite losing leaders and many fighters.
American President Donald Trump has proposed to relocate the Palestinians out of Gaza so the US can redevelop the territory – but the plan has been rejected by the Arab world and by the Palestinians, who fear they’ll never be allowed to return.
Israel, however, has embraced the plan, and it and the Trump Administration have emphasized they share the same goals in the war.
Israelis were horrified by the sight of three emaciated hostages in an earlier release this month, and revelations about hostages being held alone, barefoot or in chains have increased the pressure on Netanyahu’s government to push ahead with the ceasefire’s next stage.
Families and others fear that time is running out – and the news about the Bibas family confirmed that once again.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, (pictured in april last year) in pre-recorded remarks on Tuesday, said the bodies of four hostages would be returned on Thursday and that the release of the six living hostages would follow on Saturday. He did not elaborate beyond saying that the Bibas family would be included in the handover of four bodies
Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to start on February 4 but Qatar, who together with Egypt and the United States is mediating between the sides, said the talks have not officially started yet.
‘It will happen this week,’ Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a press conference in Jerusalem.
The initial phase of the ceasefire deal, which includes a 42-day truce and the return of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, has remained on track despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that had threatened to derail it.
But negotiations over the second stage, aimed at securing the release of the remaining 64 hostages, are expected to be tough, because they include issues like the administration of post-war Gaza, where there are large gaps between the sides.
‘We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organisation in Gaza,’ Saar said.
But he added that if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the ceasefire.
‘If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this time-frame work longer,’ Saar said.
Israelis were horrified by the sight of three emaciated hostages in an earlier release this month, and revelations about hostages being held alone, barefoot or in chains have increased the pressure on Netanyahu’s government to push ahead with the ceasefire’s next phase.
A view of the rubble of a destroyed mosque following heavy Israeli bombardment before the army’s withdrawal as Palestinians continue their daily life amid the ruins of damaged mosques in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 18, 2025
Palestinians struggle to survive their daily lives in makeshift tents among the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli attacks in Beit Lahia city in the northern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2025
Under the current phase, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are believed to be dead. If the upcoming releases go as planned, four bodies will remain and are set to be returned next week.
Hamas terrorists would still hold some 70 captives, around half believed to be dead.
The ceasefire’s current phase ends at the beginning of March, and there are fears that fighting will resume. Talks on the second phase were to start early this month.
Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 in the October 7 attack. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals, while eight have been rescued in military operations.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced most of its population of 2.3 million.
