There is hope for Hamas’ youngest hostage in Israel, as one-year-old Kfir Bibas has been named among the list of 34 captives destined for release.
Kfir, then just nine months old, was kidnapped on October 7 when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where he lived with his older brother Ariel, his mother Shiri and his father Yarden. The entire family was kidnapped.
The baby turned one year old in captivity on January 18, 2024, a day that was known in Israel as ‘the saddest birthday in the world’ and faces another birthday as a hostage.
There is now hope that the Bibas family could be freed soon, as Kfir, Ariel – who Hamas claimed had been killed a year ago – and Shiri have been named on a list of 34 hostages that Hamas is willing to release in exchange. of a ceasefire in Gaza.
But Israel has accused Hamas of “psychological terror” for naming the hostages but not confirming whether they are alive. The list includes British Emily Damari, nine other women, 11 men over 50 years of age and 11 people designated as sick.
Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it was actually a list of people whose release he had requested last July, to which the Israeli government received no response.
An official in the Prime Minister’s office dismissed it as a “spin” to pressure Israel in negotiations and called on the media to ignore “propaganda and psychological terror.”
‘They have not said who is alive and who is not; They have not sent any list,’ they said. “So, as far as we are, there is no progress.”
Kfir Bibas, then just nine months old, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where Kfir lived with his older brother Ariel, his mother Shiri and his father. Yarden.
The image of the two children being carried by their crying mother, Shiri, as they were taken from their homes was one of the most shocking published in the early days of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Bullet holes cover the bedroom wall of hostage Ariel Bibas, 4, in his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel.
The Bibas family was kidnapped on October 7 and images were later released of a bleeding Yarden being driven to Gaza on a motorcycle.
The grainy footage also captured the moment Shiri was pulled out of a white car while clinging to baby Kfir.
Another shot showed Hamas militants directing the terrified mother toward a series of buildings and throwing a blanket over her head.
At the time of the images’ release, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military was “very concerned” about the family’s well-being. He said the army found the videos on security cameras seized during its offensive in Khan Younis.
Shiri’s parents, Margaret and Yosi Silverman, who lived on the same kibbutz, were murdered and their bodies found near the Gaza border. The Bibas family’s beloved dog, Tony, was also shot and killed.
In horrifying video footage released in April last year, Kfir’s missing father Yarden was seen covered in blood and being beaten by a crowd of Palestinians as cheering terrorists took him away on a motorcycle on October 7.
The video was shared on social media by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who wrote: “The world must not remain silent in the face of such crimes.” Bring them home now!’
Yarden reportedly surrendered to the gunmen in the hope that they would capture him and spare his wife and children. He is believed to be alive in Gaza, but the fate of his family remains unclear.
Kfir and Ariel are the last child hostages still being held by Hamas.
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 at Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Ariel Bibas appears here playing with bubbles. He was captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Grainy footage, released by the IDF with the family’s permission and shared with MailOnline, shows a group the IDF identifies as Hamas members pulling a woman out of a parked white car while she holds a small child or baby.
Yarden Bibas appears on October 7 during his capture by Hamas in an image that emerged before his latest video. He is bleeding from a head wound and has blood on his hands. His relatives have not heard from him since
This comes as a Hamas source told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday that Palestinian factions need another week to provide details on the condition of each hostage on the list.
Previously the terrorists had called for a ceasefire just so they could check who was alive.
The lack of evidence of life has proven to be one of the main sticking points in negotiations to date, amid fears that Hamas has lost track of many of the captives.
But mediators are eager to build on the momentum, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken hopes to finally reach a deal before Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
“We really want to get this to the finish line in the next two weeks, whatever time we have left,” he said at a news conference in South Korea yesterday.
While nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, more than half of whom are expected to be alive, Israel suggested a partial release of 40 last summer as the first phase of a ceasefire.
Five from that list have since been executed by Hamas: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarsuri, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat and Avraham Munder. Meanwhile, one of them, Kaid Farhan al-Qadi, was rescued by the IDF.
Mediators had pushed for an initial partial release as a bridging proposal, given that Hamas demands a full withdrawal before releasing all hostages, while Israel will not withdraw until all captives are freed.
“I am terrified that Emily and the other hostages will be exposed to the constant threat of sexual assault,” Damari said.
Emily Damari (pictured before her capture) is believed to still be detained in Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza after being kidnapped on October 7 last year.
It is the first stage of a three-phase agreement that would end with a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of the IDF.
Emily Damari, among those scheduled for release on Hamas’ list, was kidnapped his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border, where he was born and raised.
Her beloved golden cockapoo, Choocha, was shot dead in her arms, while the attack left her with a gunshot wound to her hand.
Emily is the only British hostage still held by Hamas and is believed to still be in the Gaza tunnels.