3 More Hostages Released Including Yarden Bibas But What Has Hamas Done With His Family?

On Saturday, three more hostages were freed from captivity - Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas.

Yet Bibas’ freedom is bittersweet as the rest of his family remains in the hands of Hamas. Bibas’ wife Shiri, daughter Ariel and son Kfir were also kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir-Oz on October 7, 2023. Ariel is only 5 while Kfir is only 2. Shiri’s parents Yossi and Margit Silberman were murdered by Hamas.

Given that female hostages were to be released first under the terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and neither Shiri Bibas nor her children were released leads me to believe they are dead. Hamas has claimed the remaining members of the Bibas family were killed in an Israeli air strike. It is far more likely that Hamas killed them as they killed more than 1,200 Israelis.

We can hope for a miracle but we cannot count on it.