Dozens of family members and supporters gathered in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary in captivity of Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Bibas turns 35 this Thursday, and he is the first hostage to celebrate his second birthday in Hamas jails.
His family marked the event with a ceremony in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, where his sister Ofri unveiled an iron sign reading “HOME” that Yarden had made and given to her when she was installed in the kibbutz.
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“In our family we don’t celebrate birthdays much,” Ofri said at the ceremony, “but there was always a cake, dinner and a crown that Shiri made for you, like for the kids at school kindergarten. This reality is so far from us today,” she added, referring to Yarden’s wife, who is also hostage, as well as their two young children, Ariel and Kfir.
On the Place des Otages, participants marked Yarden’s birthday with Goldstar beers and flan pie, much appreciated by him and his wife.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were not released with other mothers and children during a truce in November, heightening fears about their fate.
Terrorists kidnap Yarden Bibas in Gaza after kidnapping him from his home in Nir Oz, an Israeli kibbutz located not far from the border with Gaza, on October 7, 2023. His wife Shiri and their son Ariel, 4, without forgetting their baby Kfir, were also kidnapped. (AP)
A video recovered by Israeli forces in Gaza earlier this year shows Shiri, Ariel and Kfir hours after their abduction from Kibbutz Nir Oz. It was the first evidence of life for all three family members, but there were no images of Yarden.
Nili Margalit, who spent nearly 50 days in captivity with Hamas, revealed in December 2023 that she was with Yarden when Hamas terrorists told her that his wife and two young children had been killed and ordered him to to film a video in which he criticized Netanyahu for refusing to return their bodies to Israel.
Israel has not confirmed that they were killed.
Relatives of Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas and others celebrate his 35th anniversary in Hamas captivity, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, October 9, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
After the ceremony which took place on Wednesday in the hostage square, Ofri Bibas criticized the government for not having obtained the release of his brother and his family.
“I’m very, very angry – furious – that they’re still not here. I think there were a lot of opportunities and they could have already been here,” she told the Ynet news site.
Relatives of Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas and others celebrate his 35th anniversary in Hamas captivity, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, October 9, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Ofri said she had not invited politicians to the ceremony and did not want them to attend.
“For a whole year, I met with Knesset members, I sat on Knesset committees, I met with representatives, I heard from everyone. They say the hostages are in their hearts, that they want them back, just like us, and that they will do everything they can – but I’m sorry, after a year I don’t believe them anymore.” , she said.
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
“I don’t know what condition they are in. I don’t know if they are alive or dead, I don’t know where they are, I don’t know anything,” Ofri told Ynet about his relatives.
In a message to his captive brother, Ofri said: “We love you very much and we miss you. To all of us, really. I don’t have much to wish for except your freedom, and that you can hug Shiri again, kiss Ariel and Kfir and be with them, and that we can celebrate your next birthday, and many others afterwards, together. »
