Hamas has handed over the bodies of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, deepening national mourning in Israel. Their fate had remained uncertain for months after their abduction during the October 7, 2023 attack.
The return of the bodies follows 16 months of uncertainty. Earlier on Thursday, Hamas announced the transfer, but the Bibas family urged against eulogies until forensic identification was complete. “We have been hoping for 16 months and we will not give up hope now,” wrote Shiri’s sister-in-law, Ofri Bibas Levy.
The grim confirmation came when Hamas unveiled black coffins in southern Gaza, each adorned with photographs of the Bibas family. Israelis, who had clung to hope for their survival, were left devastated.
Shiri Bibas and her sons became a symbol of the brutality of the October 7 attack, in which gunmen abducted them from Kibbutz Nir Oz. One in four residents of the community were either killed or kidnapped that day. Harrowing images of Shiri clutching her children as gunmen surrounded her spread across social media within hours.
In Nir Oz, remnants of their life remain untouched—tricycles and toys scattered on the lawn, bullet holes marking the front door. A convoy carrying their remains passed through the Gaza border as Israelis gathered to pay their respects.
Israeli forces had obtained CCTV footage of the Bibas family alive in Gaza on the day of their abduction. In November, Hamas released a video of Shiri’s husband, Yarden, pleading for their return. Yarden, who was held separately, was released in February as part of a ceasefire deal.
In a statement after his release, Yarden suggested that Hamas had dictated his words in captivity, but he repeated his plea to bring his family home. His sister, Ofri, has said he continued to hope that Hamas had lied about their deaths.
As news of the transfer spread, Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, a focal point of national grief. “Today is one of the saddest days of my 40 years in Israel,” said Jerusalem resident Nicky Cregor. “I feel that we have an endless wound in our hearts that is going to take a long time to heal.”
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