Yarden Bibas, held captive by Hamas, will be released on Saturday and return to Israel as part of the Hamas hostage deal, while grave concerns remain for the lives of his wife and two young children, Kfir and Ariel. Israel conveyed a message to Hamas through Qatar and Egypt several days ago, requesting additional information to clarify the status of the Bibas family members who are supposed to be released in the current phase of the hostage deal.
Yarden Bibas attempted to protect his family, but was taken just like his wife Shiri and their two redheaded children, Ariel (5) and Kfir (2), who was taken when he was just 9 months old at the time. Footage of Yarden Bibas' capture on October 7 was released in April 2024, showing him being taken to Gaza on a motorcycle, his face bloodied, surrounded by a frenzied crowd. Additionally, Hamas released a disturbing video of Yarden from captivity in which he addresses the prime minister and speaks about his family.
The attackers who breached Nir Oz kibbutz arrived at the Bibas family home, drilling through the locked door with equipment they had brought, and entered the safe room where the four family members were hiding. The father, Yarden, messaged his family about the intruders' entry, writing: "This feels like the end."
One of the prominent voices in the struggle is Ofri Bibas, Yarden's sister and aunt to Ariel and Kfir. She previously told Israel Hayom: "Our children are very good friends. Yarden talked a lot about wanting the children to grow up together, to be close cousins and friends. The gatherings were important, and they were considering moving north, but the kidnapping cut everything short." She added: "I hold my head and cannot understand how this situation is part of our reality. It's completely incomprehensible that they're in Gaza now. I see this as a kind of failure, abandonment – one after another."
