Kidnapping Of The Bibas Family

On 7 October 2023, as part of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the Nir Oz massacre, the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas abducted the Israeli-Argentinian/Peruvian Bibas ( he, ביבס) family from the Nir Oz kibbutz: 9-month-old Kfir ( he, כפיר), 4-year-old Ariel ( he, אריאל), 32-year-old mother Shiri ( he, שירי; née Silberman), and her 34-year-old husband Yarden ( he, ירדן). The youngest child, baby Kfir, was the youngest hostage taken in the 7 October 2023 attacks. Shiri's parents, who also lived on the kibbutz, were later found murdered.

Amidst widespread concern and a campaign for their release, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas transferred the family to a different Palestinian terror group within Gaza. Efforts to release Shiri and her children during a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas were unsuccessful; Hamas later claimed that they were killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis.

On 19 February, the IDF presented the relatives of the Bibas family a video showing Shiri and the children while they were still alive several days after the abduction. The video was apparently filmed in southern Gaza.

Abduction

Reportedly, prior to the attack the family had been debating leaving the kibbutz and looking to move to the Golan Heights, as they were tired of the constant fear and the proximity to Gaza and the rockets.

On the day of the attack, Yarden Bibas was reportedly texting with his sister to update her on the status of fighting at and around the Nir Oz Kibbutz. At around 6:30 am he sent her an update which included rocket fire, and then that the militants had entered the kibbutz with concern that his children did not know how to keep quiet. By about 9:45 he sent "They're in" shortly after having sent "I love you" to his family. Yarden had reportedly first believed that the rocket fire was "just another bombing" and had hesitated to use the gun in the home due to the number of militants with automatic weapons.

Multiple pieces of media of the family were circulated online, such as a video of Shiri holding her redheaded children in her arms, with a look of terror on her face as she was surrounded by militants. Multiple pictures found later showed Yarden, on the day of the attack, bleeding from the head, and being herded away by gunmen.

Shiri's father José Luis (Yossi) Silberman, and his wife, Margit Shnaider Silberman, were also presumed to be missing from the kibbutz. Margit Shnaider Silberman moved to Israel from Peru in the 1970s. José Luis (Yossi) Silberman was originally from Argentina, both Silbermans were in their 60s. The Silbermans were later found dead and officially identified as deceased on 21 October.

Efforts to release

Shiri and her children were expected to be released in the multi-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that started on 24 November. Israel considered it a violation of the framework that they were not released. After the brothers were not freed during the temporary ceasefire, their relatives launched a campaign demanding their release. On 29 November, Hamas' armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said Shiri and her children had been killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel said that Hamas' claims were not verified, and warned they could be psychological warfare. A hostage released during the multi-day ceasefire alleged that she and another hostage were approached by Hamas members and ordered to tell Yarden that his family had been killed by IDF bombing. When she refused the militants ordered the other hostage to translate while they told Yarden, and filmed his reaction where he was allegedly coached to blame Netanyahu.

IDF chief spokesperson said, regarding the family's location, that the IDF did not believe the boys and their mother were in the hands of Hamas but they consistently refused to name any other group, saying only "another group".

A cousin of the Bibas family raised a request to speak with US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to petition them to help in the release of the family. He also mentioned that they were working with the Argentinian government to help petition for the release of the family. In early December 2023 per Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, all Israeli embassies and consulates either lit their buildings in orange or displayed images of the family. The display was supposed to coincide with the first lighting of Hanukkah candles.

Around Kfir Bibas's first birthday in January 2024, family members celebrated his (18 January) birthday and raised awareness for the family still reportedly held as hostages. Hundreds of people gathered at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate Kfir and his family with a performance by Israeli children's music stars and wore orange to symbolize the two children's hair. Kfir's picture was also seen next to Israeli President Isaac Herzog while he spoke at the World Economic Forum that same week. On 19 February, the Israeli military released a video which purportedly showed members of the Bibas family in the Khan Younis area.

See also

* 2023 Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
* Children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
* Kidnapping of Noa Argamani
* List of kidnappings
* Women in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

References

{{2023 Israel–Hamas war

2020s missing person cases
Formerly missing people
Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
Kidnapped children
Missing person cases in Israel
October 2023 events in Israel
Mass kidnappings in the 2020s