The young Israeli brothers who returned to Israel in coffins Thursday were brutally murdered, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Friday, despite Hamas’s repeated claims that the children and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
A forensic examination reportedly found that the terrorists had killed Ariel and Kfir Bibas “with their bare hands” weeks after their kidnapping on Oct. 7, 2023. The IDF also said that Hamas failed to return the body of their mother, Shiri Bibas, in violation of the Gaza War ceasefire agreement. The body that was returned was found upon examination to be of a random unidentified woman.
“We can confirm that baby Kfir Bibas, just 10 months old, and his older brother Ariel, aged four, were both brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza no later than November 2023. These two innocent children were taken hostage alive, along with their mother, Shiri, from their home on October 7, 2023,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
“Contrary to Hamas’s lies, Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered in cold blood by terrorists,” he added. “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands. Afterward, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities. This assessment is based on both forensic findings, from the identification process, and intelligence that supports these findings. We have shared these findings, intelligence, and forensics with our partners around the world so they can verify it.”
Hamas handed over the four coffins to Israel on Thursday after parading them through the streets and putting them on display as part of a macabre ceremony in Gaza. The coffins were loaded into Red Cross vehicles and scanned for explosives before being transported to Israel.
Hagari continued: “The entire world must know exactly how the Hamas terrorist organization operates. Ariel and Kfir were murdered, and then yesterday, their bodies were returned in a cynical and cruel ceremony in Gaza. Shiri Bibas, who was meant to be returned with her children to Israel as part of the agreement, was not returned by Hamas. Hamas lied and violated the agreement.
“The body that Hamas falsely claimed was Shiri’s was not hers, nor was it any other hostage. Instead, Hamas sent over the body of an anonymous woman. This is further evidence of Hamas’s barbaric cruelty.”
He said Israel demands that Shiri Bibas be returned to Israel swiftly, “in accordance with the agreement.”
Hagari mentioned that he spoke with the children’s father, recently released hostage Yarden Bibas, on Thursday and “Yarden looked me in the eyes and asked that all the world know and be horrified by the manner in which they murdered his children.”
Yarden was released by Hamas on Feb. 1. During his captivity, Hamas had forced the father to announce the death of his wife and children in a propaganda video.
The IDF spokesman said “our hearts go out to Yarden Bibas, Kfir and Ariel’s father, and Shiri’s husband, who was abducted separately from his wife and children on October 7, and returned home after 484 days in captivity earlier this month. We will do everything we can to bring Shiri home, and all the 69 other hostages still being held in horrific and brutal conditions by Hamas in Gaza.”
The other deceased hostage, 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, was also murdered in captivity, Hagari stated.
“Oded was taken hostage alive together with his wife Yocheved by the Islamic Jihad terror organization on October 7, 2023, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz,” he stated. “The forensic examination confirms that Oded was also murdered in captivity in November 2023.”
“The abduction and murder in captivity of Oded, Ariel, and baby Kfir, are crimes against humanity. The whole world must condemn these barbaric acts of terror,” he added.
“Our mission is not over, until every single hostage comes home,” Hagari concluded.