A DAD gave himself over to Hamas on October 7 to save his wife and children – only for them to be also kidnapped, and for sick terrorists to then taunt him and claim they were dead.
Yarden Bibas sacrificed himself thinking he was saving his family including his son baby Kfir, who became the youngest Israeli hostage at just nine-months-old when he was snatched.
The Bibas family – with little Kfir, his brother Ariel and their unrecognisable fiery red hair – have become an unforgettable symbol of the terror group’s atrocities as they were dragged into Gaza.
In a heartbreaking interview with documentarian Alan Duncan for The Sun, Yarden’s traumatised cousin, Yifat Zailer, told how he gave up his life to save his family only to be taunted by Hamas who claimed had died.
Yifat said Yarden left the family’s bomb shelter in Kibbutz Nir Oz as they hid from explosions in the desperate hope the terrorists would take him instead of his wife and children.
His plan appeared to have worked at first as he was taken alone into Gaza where he was subjected to the cruellest form of psychological torture.
However, unbeknownst to him, his family were also kidnapped and dragged across the border.
Just weeks later, Hamas released a sick propaganda video blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for killing his wife and kids in a missile strike.
The disturbing clip, published on Telegram, showed a haggard Yarden in captivity accusing the Israelis of killing his children.
Hamas have been engaged in “psychological warfare” involving the hostages – including this week drip-feeding footage of six captives they executed last weekend.
There is no proof beyond Hamas’ warped taunts that Kfir, Ariel and their mother Shiri are dead – and the family are still desperately awaiting news.
Yifat said hostages released in the November 2023 ceasefire confirmed that Hamas terrorists had worked to convince Yarden his wife and young children were dead.
[Yarden] has been in captivity now for almost a year, thinking that he lost everything
Yifat Zailer
She spoke as part of her work with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum – also known as Bring Them Home – a dedicated group working to return all kidnapped Israelis and others taken on October 7.
An emotional Yifat told The Sun: “We know that he left the safe room when he heard the terrorists enter his home. He sent his sister a text. ‘They’re here, I love you.’
“And he never replied again. He left the safe room so they would take him and be happy that they took him.
“We know now from hostages who were released… the Hamas terrorists came to him and told him that my cousin, his wife and his two children were gone.
“He never knew that they were taken. He thought when they captured him, ‘I have protected my family’.”
Yifat explained that on the day the video was released, raising alarm across Israel about baby Kfir’s state, the IDF came to them and said they could not confirm the family’s deaths.
She said: “But he doesn’t know that. So he’s been in captivity now for almost a year, thinking that he lost everything.
“Everything was taken from him. His identity, his rights, his freedom, his right to mourn.
“I miss them terribly”.
On August 5 a heartbroken Yifat and her family marked Ariel’s 5th birthday in captivity as hundreds marched on the streets of Tel Aviv to commemorate the day.
Infamous video of the moment a distraught Shiri was taken, clutching both Ariel and baby Kfir to her chest on October 7, horrified the world last year.
20 kilos thinner, heartbroken, his eyes crying to the camera saying that he knows that his wife and two children are gone
Yifat Zailer
They were expected to be released as part of the brief and only ceasefire-hostage negotiation last November.
Instead, baby Kfir turned one in January this year, also a prisoner, and remains the youngest hostage to be taken by Hamas.
The colour orange, representing the brothers’ tell-tale red hair, has been assimilated with marches, protests and art produced around the world to campaign for their release.
In April this year Hamas released a harrowing clip of the moment Yarden was taken, showing the dad-of-two surrounded by a mob of clamouring thugs trying to beat him.
His head and hands were covered in what appeared to be his own blood.
In November, after the hostage release, they had published the clip of Yarden speaking of the ‘deaths’ of his family.
Yifat said of her cousin: “He was so anxious in captivity and he kept asking about them.
“The terrorist who was watching over him told him just to relax, ‘They’re fine. The redheads are fine’ because they became so famous.”
Holding back tears she said: “20 kilos thinner, heartbroken, his eyes crying to the camera saying that he knows that his wife and two children are gone.”
Shiri’s mum and dad – Yifat’s beloved aunt and uncle – were also murdered in the Nir Oz slaughter.
Yifat said their house was “completely burnt out” and it took two weeks to find their remains.
The heartbroken mum described their lives before October 7: “A very small, warm Argentinian and Peruvian family.
“A lot of laughter. A lot of good food. The kibbutz represented freedom for me.
“All the houses are open, always. You live in a sort of a gated community but it’s larger and it seems like magic.”
Nir Oz was one of the first kibbutz to be hit in Hamas’ attack last year with around a quarter of its some 400 residents killed, kidnapped or abducted.
Some 71 were taken hostage – while 46 are believed to have been killed.
In total Hamas killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 251 more.
It is estimated some 97 hostages remain unaccounted for – including the Bibas family.
And this week it was revealed that Hamas has engaged in kill orders against remaining hostages if Israeli forces get too close.
The war continues as the world approaches the one-year anniversary of October 7.
Yifat told how painful the almost 12 months of war have been for her and her family – who hope for a peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine.
She told how her and Shiri were brought up to appreciate and understand “the complexity of the situation of the area where we live”.
“We believe in coexistence in my family always,” she said.
“And we silenced the voices who said, ‘All Palestinians want you dead’.
But she said “something in me broke on October 7th”.
Yifat added: I’m getting asked a lot by foreign reporters ‘How do I feel about the death of all the Palestinian children in Gaza?’
“Which is a really hard question, asking someone in their darkest times, because our children are still missing.
“And my aunt and uncle were brutally murdered. But I’m a mother. I don’t want to see any child being hurt.
“They’re not to blame. It’s us adults who need to take the responsibility and take care of our own children.
“It breaks my heart, truly. I see the photos. It’s horrible.
“The generational effect of children being kept in this cycle of vengeance.
“There’s no solution for the situation if things carry on this way.
“So ten months now, after October 7th, I truly believe that Palestine and Israel can be free if terror organisations don’t rule the area and don’t control the situation and don’t attack civilians.”
Israel has vowed to continue their offensive until Hamas is destroyed – and IDF estimates more than 14,000 terrorists have been killed in Gaza.
At the start of the war, Israeli authorities said Hamas had a fighting strength in Gaza of around 35,000.
They continue to hunt for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after killing the terror group’s other two leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif.
He is believed to be still cowering in Gaza, using the narrow strip’s people as human shields.
Hamas’ health ministry claimed 40,000 people have died since the start of the war – they do not differentiate between fighters & civilians in their figures.
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
ONGOING negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal were recently plunged into turmoil following the discovery of six dead Israeli hostages in Gaza on August 31.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to a deal brokered by the US over many months this year in May – and later an updated version in August.
But he said Hamas declined to accept and now they “continue to firmly refuse any offers” put on the table.
He has also turned down several ceasefire proposals put forward by Hamas.
The PM has repeatedly refused to waiver on removing troops from the Philadelhpi Corridor, which borders Gaza and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor which splits North Gaza from the South.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu told Defence Minister Yoav Gallant he is prioritising keeping IDF troops in the Philadelhpi Corridor over saving the lives of remaining hostages in Gaza.
Protesters and relatives of the hostages have argued that Netanyahu is placing his desire to win the war and own political gain above securing a deal for their release.
A fortnight of in-person negotiations in Egypt and Qatar recently ended with no agreed deal on the table.
Reports suggest the US is looking at putting forward a new proposal to urgently pause the fighting in Gaza.
Talks via other channels are still ongoing.
US officials have voiced concern over Netanyahu’s role in securing a deal and over Hamas’ “seriousness” in coming to an agreement.
