Who Were 9-month-old Kfir And 4-year-old Ariel Bibas? Tragic Story of The Youngest Hostages

New Delhi, India: Hamas on Thursday (February 20) returned the bodies of Israel's Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who were abducted during the group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The news has devastated Israel, as the boys were the youngest hostages taken to Gaza.  

The remains of the four hostages were transported in Red Cross vehicles to the Gaza border, where they were handed over in the presence of a large gathering, including masked fighters and bystanders. The area was draped with banners and flags. 

“Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”

Relatives in Israel have clung to hope, marking Kfir’s first and second birthdays and his brother’s fifth. The Bibas family said in a statement Wednesday that it would wait for “identification procedures” before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.

Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange in solidarity with the family — a reference to two boys’ red hair — and a popular children’s song was written in their honor.

The Bibas Family’s Capture

On October 7, Hamas fighters stormed Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza border, where the Bibas family was hiding in a safe room. Shiri Bibas, 32, was taken along with her sons, nine-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel. 

Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was captured separately.

The Youngest Hostages of the War

Kfir and Ariel were the youngest people taken hostage by Hamas. Posters of Kfir, clutching a pink stuffed elephant and flashing a toothless smile, were plastered across Israel and around the world. 

Ariel, described by his family as a playful child who loved toy tractors, was just beginning to understand the world around him when he was kidnapped.  

Their father, Yarden, was forced into captivity separately, unaware of what was happening to his wife and children.  

How Did They Die?

In November 2023, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed that Shiri and her children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. 

They later released a video of Yarden Bibas blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their deaths, a video Israel dismissed as "psychological terror."  

For months, Israel did not confirm the deaths of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel, but their fate was feared. The Israeli military later told the Bibas family that their loved ones were likely no longer alive. Yarden Bibas, who survived, was released earlier this month, but his wife and children never returned.  

On February 20, Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages, including the Bibas family. 

With inputs from AP