A 10-month-old Israeli baby, named Kfir Bibas, who was taken hostage by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas during its October 7 attacks on Israel, has reportedly been killed in Hamas custody. Baby Kfir, his toddler brother Ariel, and their mother Shiri have reportedly all been killed. Hamas is now trying to blame Israel for their deaths.
According to a report by The Guardian, Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets into Israeli civilian settlements, murdered Israeli civilians at random, and took a large number of hostages on October 7, now claims that the little Bibas children and their mother died “in an Israeli bombing”, meaning the Israeli counteroffensive following the Hamas attack. The children’s father Yarden was also taken hostage. All of them were held captive in Gaza Strip, where Hamas rules.
The Bibas’ extended family members in Israel have been campaigning for the family’s release under the Israel-Hamas swap deal for prisoners and hostages, citing concerns for the tiny baby’s life in captivity. Following the Hamas claim that the baby, his brother, and mother were killed, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Israeli side was trying to verify this claim.
The Guardian report said: “Shortly before Wednesday’s planned release of women and children, the military wing of Hamas said Kfir had been killed in an earlier Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip, along with his brother and their mother. Yarden was not mentioned.”
In response, an IDF statement said: “IDF representatives spoke with the Bibas family following the recent reports and are with them at this difficult time. The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information.”
The Israeli military said: “Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable. Hamas’s actions continue to endanger the hostages, which include nine children. Hamas must immediately release our hostages.”
On Tuesday, The Guardian had reported that “Israeli authorities said they believed the [Bibas] family had been handed over by Hamas to another Palestinian militant group in a possible complication of efforts to free him”.
The baby’s extended family members had been terrified about his fate; now their worst fears appear to have come true. “There is no precedent for something like this, for a baby who was kidnapped when he was nine months old. Is baby Kfir the enemy of Hamas?” asked Eylon Keshet, the baby’s uncle on his father’s side.
Hamas threatened crying Israeli children with guns
During the recent prisoner-hostage swap, Hamas has been trying to give a public relations spin to its actions, posting footage of Israeli hostages waving at their captors while being released. A number of social media accounts have gone into an overdrive to claim how “humane” the Hamas members had been towards these hostages, and how the hostages were full of admiration for their captors.
However, the reality was rather different, as per the accounts given by family members of released hostages.
Deborah Cohen, the aunt of 12-year-old released hostage Eitan Yahalomi, told a French television network that Hamas threatened the captive Israeli and foreigner children with guns every time they cried.
Hamas members also beat up the children and forced them to watch “horrific footage” of the October 7 attacks on the Israeli communities, she said.
Emily Hand, the 9-year-old Irish-Israeli hostage whose release was secured recently, spoke only in whispers even after she came home, according to an interview given by her father Thomas Hand. The child was “conditioned” by her captors to not make any sounds, he added.
