Kfir was the youngest of about 30 children taken hostage. The infant, with red hair and a toothless smile, quickly became well-known across Israel. His ordeal was raised by Israeli leaders on podiums around the world.
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The extended Bibas family has been active at protests, branding the colour orange as the symbol of their fight for the children and their mother. They marked Kfir Bibas’ first birthday with a release of orange balloons and lobbied world leaders for support.
Family photos aired on TV and posted on social media created a national bond with the two boys and made them familiar faces.
Israelis learned of Ariel Bibas’ love for Batman. Photos from a happier time showed the entire family dressed up as the character.
On Wednesday, many people dressed up in Batman costumes and saluted as the caskets passed.
Yarden Bibas eulogised his family.
“Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room, I asked if we should fight or surrender. You said fight, so I fought,” he said, speaking directly to his wife. “Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all. If only I had known what would happen, I wouldn’t have fought.”
The three were buried in a joint grave next to Shiri’s parents, who were also killed in the attack.Credit: Getty Images
Then he spoke of his elder son, Ariel: “I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute.”
“I’m sure you’re making all the angels laugh with your silly jokes and impressions,” he added, envisioning the boy in paradise. “I hope there are plenty of butterflies for you to watch, just like you did during our picnics.”
He also addressed his youngest son. “Kfir, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better,” he said. “I miss nibbling on you and hearing your laughter.”
Thousands of people line the entrance to the Ayalon highway to watch and pay their respects as the funeral procession carrying the caskets of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel pass by with the family in minibuses behind them.Credit: Getty Images
The funerals came on the same day as Hamas said it had released the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross in the last such handover planned for the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
At around the same time, a Red Cross convoy carrying dozens of released Palestinian prisoners left Israel’s Ofer prison. Crowds of cheering families, friends and supporters of Palestinian prisoners gathered in Beitunia jostling for a glimpse of the bus that was on its way.
Among those leaving Israel early on Thursday were hundreds of detainees arrested from Gaza, held on suspicion of militancy after the October 7 attack, without charge for months. They included 445 men, 21 teenagers, and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages.
Israel had delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since last Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas.
The militant group called the delay a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and had said talks on a second phase were not possible until the Palestinians were freed.
Relatives and friends of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prison wait around a bonfire for their arrival in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.Credit: AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that the release of the latest bodies would be carried out without a ceremony, as opposed to past Hamas releases with stage-managed events in front of crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and United Nations officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
During the release of the Bibas family’s bodies in Gaza last week, Hamas militants displayed coffins on a stage labelled with Shiri’s name and those of her two boys as upbeat music blared. Behind them hung a panel where their pictures hovered beneath a cartoon of Netanyahu resembling a vampire.
Shiri’s sister, Dana Silberman Sitton, said she had tried to prepare herself for over a year to bury her sister alongside their parents, but the moment was still overwhelming.
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She begged people to remember Shiri as full of light and laughter – not just the photo of her terror-stricken face as she was being kidnapped.
She also asked forgiveness on behalf of Israel’s government and military because it had taken so long to bring them home.
The New York Times reported government officials were asked to stay away from the private burial.
Yarden’s sister, Ofri Bibas Levy, one of the most active voices in the fight to bring Israel’s hostages home, said, “Our disaster as a nation and as a family should not have happened and must never happen again”.
“Forgiveness means accepting responsibility,” she said. “There is no meaning to forgiveness before the failures are investigated, and all officials take responsibility.”
Some 1200 people in Israel were killed in the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza and 251 were taken hostage. More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
AP, Reuters
