Concern is growing for the Bibas family, captured by Hamas on October 7.
“We fear for their lives
,” said Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Monday, February 19.
During an update on the situation of the conflict, the IDF revealed images showing the mother, Shiri Bibas, as well as her two sons Ariel and Kfir, on October 7, a few hours after their kidnapping.
Father Yarden had been kidnapped separately.
These videos come from a camera at a military post located in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, a few kilometers from the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz where the Bibas family lived, said Daniel Hagari.
According to the spokesperson, the images show Shiri Bibas from behind and surrounded by seven armed men who force her to cover herself with a sheet.
She would carry in her arms her son Ariel, four years old, and Kfir, who would be thirteen months old today.
Kfir Bibas is the youngest Israeli hostage held by Hamas.
He was less than nine months old when he was taken from his crib on October 7.
“We see Ariel's red hair sticking out of the white fabric
,” described Daniel Hagari, before adding that the mother and the two children were
“put in a car and taken elsewhere
. ”
According to the IDF spokesperson, the men around them are
“mujahideen” terrorists –
fighters from various liberation movements in the Muslim world who wage jihad.
Daniel Hagari described the images as
“terrifying and heartbreaking
,” pushing for action to
“bring the hostages home.
Quickly"
.
“Unbearable and inhumane”
The rest of the Bibas family was able to view these images and published a press release immediately on Monday.
“These videos tear our hearts.
Seeing Shiri, Yarden, Ariel and Kfir, torn from their home in Nir Oz and ending up in this hell, is unbearable and inhumane
,” they said.
Before calling on
“decision makers, in Israel and around the world, involved in the negotiations (for their release) to bring them home now”
.
“Kidnapping children is a crime against humanity and a war crime, Ariel and Kfir are the victims of a monstrous evil
,” she added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also reacted after the broadcast of these videos.
“(They) remind us who we are dealing with, with cruel baby kidnappers.
(...) We will bring these kidnappers of babies and mothers to justice
,” he said in English, in a video message broadcast Monday evening.
Hamas announced last November the death of Kfir, his brother and his mother, allegedly killed by an Israeli bombardment.
But Israeli authorities have not confirmed this.
The terrorist group also released a video of the father of the family, Yarden Bibas, also kidnapped on October 7, after announcing the death of the rest of the family.
Following the IDF's statements on Monday, a Hamas-allied military group reiterated in a statement that the mother and two children had been killed by
"an Israeli bombardment"
after being
"detained for 20 days
. "
Judging that
“Netanyahu and his government”
were
“responsible for the death of (these three members of) the Bibas family”
.
The terrorists accuse the Israeli prime minister of
“seeking to get rid of”
the other hostages
“by deliberately targeting them”
.
Read alsoIn Israel, the government is torn apart over the continuation of operations in Gaza
Orange, the color of hope
Relatives of the Bibas family symbolically celebrated Kfir's first birthday on January 17.
For the occasion, they staged a birthday party with a cake topped with a photo of the baby and an orange balloon arch.
This color, in reference to the red hair of Kfir and Ariel, has become a symbol of hope among Israelis for the release of the hostages.
Birthday decorations and a cake with a photo of Kfir were made to symbolically celebrate the first birthday of the child Bibas, on January 16, 2024. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP
Israelis hold orange balloons during the celebration of the first anniversary of Kfir Bibas, in Tel Aviv on January 18, 2024. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFPAHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
The images filmed by Hamas showing Shiri Bibas, her face twisted in terror in front of her captors, and hugging her two red-headed children, became one of the best-known incarnations of the violence of the attack which traumatized the Israelis.
Also read: Hamas-Israel war: families of hostages will file a complaint with the ICC against Hamas
The Nir Oz kibbutz where the Bibas family lived was the scene of one of the bloodiest attacks carried out on October 7 by Hamas, which left more than 1,160 dead on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, according to a count by the AFP based on official Israeli figures.
More than 250 people were forcibly taken by Hamas and its allies, including more than 75 captured in Nir Oz.
According to Israeli authorities, 130 hostages are still in Gaza.
Among them, 30 died.
In the Gaza Strip, 29,000 people were killed, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.