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IDF investigating ‘cruel’ Hamas claim that Bibas children, mother killed in Gaza
EMANUEL FABIAN | The Times of Israel | 11-29-2023| Condensed [ [link removed] ]
Shiri Bibas, 4-year-old Ariel, and 10-month-old Kfir are believed to have been transferred by Hamas to a smaller terror group in the southern city of Khan Younis
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday it had notified the family of a mother and two young children kidnapped to Gaza that it was investigating a “cruel and inhumane” Hamas statement claiming the three had been killed.
The statement by Hamas’s military wing asserted Shiri Bibas, 32, and her children, four-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir, were killed in an Israeli strike during the war in the Strip. It did not say when this had allegedly occurred (a pause in fighting has been in place since November 24).
Gaza terror groups have made such claims regarding hostages in the past, seen as part of a psychological warfare campaign. Another terror group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, previously announced that hostage Channa Katzir had died, only for her to be freed [ [link removed] ] in the first hostage release Friday.
The family has become one of the most recognizable groups of hostages and is held up by many as proof of the extent of Hamas’s cruelty. A video that emerged of Shiri carrying her children as she was taken away by the terrorists quickly gained attention due to her visible distress, the children’s bright red hair (which has led the kids to be popularly nicknamed “the redheads”), and Kfir’s young age — being the youngest Israeli abducted by Hamas. Shiri’s husband and the father of the two boys are believed to be held separately from the family.
While some 60 women and children have been released over the past five days as part of a temporary ceasefire deal, hopes that the Bibas family would be among them have been dashed day after day.
In total, 31 children have been released as part of the deal, but nine remained in the hands of Gazan terrorists as of Wednesday afternoon, including Ariel and Kfir. The other seven have been identified as Gali Tarshansky, 13; Amit Shani, 16; Ofir Engel, 18; Liam Or, 18; Itay Regev, 18; and Bilal and Aisha Ziyadne, aged 18 and 17.
On Tuesday, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichai Adraee confirmed via X, formerly Twitter, that the mother and her two children were transferred by Hamas to another terror group inside the Gaza Strip and that they were believed to be held in the southern city of Khan Younis. That group has been reported to be the small Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
“Children and babies under the age of one who have not seen the light of day for more than 50 days are being held captive by Hamas, [which] treats some of them as loot and in some cases has transferred them to other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” he wrote.
The family gets up every morning hoping they will be returned in each day’s releases, and have been gravely disappointed that they have not been. “We are really, really worried about him,” said Keshet, holding a photo of 10-month-old Kfir. “We are not sure if he can make it. Every day that he is staying there is a real, real danger to his life.”
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