Israel’s Hope, Hamas’s Cruelty – What the Bibas family showed the world

The tragic story of the Bibas family is one that gripped hearts around the world. A father, a mother, and their two young children were wrenched from their home and into the hands of their merciless captors.

We will never forget the images of Shiri and her redheaded little boys. The sheer terror in her expression was devastating to witness. She was helpless against the monsters who tore her family from their home. Yet, in the face of unimaginable fear, she clung onto her children, wrapping her arms around them and covering them with her last remaining form of protection; a mother’s love.

Meanwhile, Yarden Bibas, her husband, was separated from his young family and dragged away by the same inhuman hands. He was a father, a protector, who was forced to endure the unbearable agony of knowing his wife and sons were at the mercy of those who had none.

For sixteen months, the world held on to the hope that the Bibas family would all return home together, safely reunited and whole again as a family in Israel. However, when Yarden was returned alone without his wife and children, hope gave way to heartbreak.

Sadly, news emerged that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were dead. 

When Yarden was returned to Israel, Hamas made a theatre of his release. Yarden was forced to wave to the crowds and show his appreciation to the murderers of his wife and children.

Hamas once again put on a spectacle when they returned their bodies to Israel. Under a blood-libel banner falsely accusing Israel of their deaths, Hamas proudly displayed the caskets of the Bibas mother and children, alongside the casket of Oded Lifschitz, an elderly Israeli who was also murdered in captivity. 

Crowds of pro-Hamas Palestinians gathered, including children, and cheered as they saw the caskets. The crowd was reportedly told not to celebrate, but they could not hold back their enthusiasm. The crowd of ‘innocent civilians’ were joyful at the deaths of these Jewish babies and their mother, revealing the antisemitic hatred that fuels this conflict.

The banner that accused Israel of killing the Bibas mother and children featured an image of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, depicting him as a blood-thirsty vampire with blood dripping from his teeth. Hamas was falsely accusing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of murdering the very people they were trying to save.

On Shiri’s casket, it had a note saying that she was ‘taken prisoner on 7 October 2023’. Even in death, Hamas was treating her as if she had committed a crime and deserved what happened to her and her children. The caskets were then loaded into the vehicles of the International Red Cross and were driven through the crowds of cheering Palestinians. 

When the caskets were returned, the first thing Israel had to do was to send in the bomb squad to ensure that Hamas had not rigged the caskets with explosives. Then, when Israel tried to open the caskets, they found that Hamas had provided the wrong keys, so they had to break open the caskets instead. Hamas purposely played these games to mock Israel.

Finally, when Israel was able to access the bodies, they carried out DNA tests to ensure that the remains belonged to whom Hamas claimed. Likely, you will know what happened next. The DNA results showed that the bodies of the children were Ariel and Kfir Bibas, but the body inside the casket of Shiri Bibas was not Shiri Bibas at all. Instead, it was the remains of an unknown Palestinian woman. 

Think about that for a moment. Hamas was desecrating the remains of a Palestinian woman in order to mock Israel; and even in death, Hamas was trying to deprive a murdered Jewish mother of the dignity of burial with her murdered Jewish children. 

They did this horrific act in front of the world. It is possible Hamas underestimated the world’s disgust at this act. There was global shock and outrage. It was perhaps a moment that opened people’s eyes to the evil of Hamas. Two days later, after immense pressure, Hamas capitulated and returned Shiri’s body at night, under the cover of darkness, and without any fanfare. Shiri was finally returned home to Israel and buried with her children.

Palestinians killed them

Israel’s forensic teams said pathological exams and intelligence showed they had been murdered by their captors “with their bare hands” in November 2023, just one month after they were taken captive. The children were likely beaten or strangled to death and their bodies were stoned afterwards to make it look as though they were killed by falling rubble from an air strike.

It should be noted that Israel has distributed the forensic evidence to teams in other countries who have corroborated their findings. All experts who have seen the evidence have concurred that the Bibas children were killed at the hands of Palestinians. 

Sadly, the lie is so strong among Palestinians and their supporters that even today many still blame Israel for killing the Bibas family. Even in protests on the streets of London, we have seen people denying the brutality of Hamas and instead spreading the blood-libel against Israel. They want to believe that Israel is evil, and so they have convinced themselves to reject fact and instead believe lies. It gets worse, however, because there are videos of people ripping down the posters of the Bibas children. Some don’t even believe that these children were kidnapped. Despite all the evidence, there are still those supporting the Palestinians who do not believe Hamas killed any civilians on October 7th, but that is a topic for another article. 

It should also be pointed out that under international law, the death of hostages under any circumstances (even natural death or friendly fire) is always the full responsibility of the hostages’ captors from the very moment they are taken hostage.  In the case of the Bibas family and all Israeli hostages, Hamas is responsible for their safety and is responsible for their condition. Likewise, international organisations such as the United Nations and the International Red Cross have a duty under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to ensure access to and the safety of the hostages. Since October 7th this shockingly has not happened.

The world failed the Bibas family just as it has failed all Israeli hostages. Israel largely stands alone. 

Israel will never forget the Bibas family

The Jewish festival of Purim is a joyful occasion to celebrate how God saved His people from Haman’s evil plot in ancient Persia through the bravery of Queen Esther and wisdom of Mordecai. One of the main traditions of the festival is the dressing up in costumes, especially for children, which symbolises the unexpected way God turned events around for the Jewish people.

In 2025, Purim had a clear winner for the most popular outfit. Israelis up and down the country dressed up as Batman with orange balloons to honour the Bibas children who loved Batman and would often dress up as their superhero.

Yarden Bibas (the father) and the wider Bibas family wrote this message on Purim:

“Our hearts missed a beat twice today. Once when we woke up to a morning without new photos of Ariel and Kfir dressed up for Purim, and the second time when we saw all the incredible gestures on the streets of Israel.

“Time after time during the last almost year and a half and especially during the last few weeks, you have shown us that Ariel and Kfir will never leave us. They are in the heart of the nation and will always remain so. Those who were a symbol of Hamas’ cruelty, are now a symbol of unity and hope for the people of Israel.

“Just as we were so moved to see the costumes, we were equally moved to see you at the funeral procession, at the shiva and also when we saw you call to continue returning those hostages that remain in captivity. Thank you our dear people of Israel.”

Hamas tried to erase the Bibas family, but instead they have become a powerful symbol of unity and love that is far stronger than the hatred of Israel’s enemies.

Sadly, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir are gone, but they are not forgotten. They live on in the hearts of the Israeli people.