Hamas released four Israeli women hostages on Saturday in the second exchange under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza. The uniformed soldiers were handed over to Red Cross members as the world watched. A fragile ceasefire remains in place in Gaza, but the fate of the Bibas family and Hamas’s youngest hostage remains unclear.
Those abducted by the group on October 7, 2023 included Siri Vivas, her two sons Ariel (5 years old) and Kfir (2 years old), and her husband Yarden. Ta. The youngest hostage, Kfir, was 8 months old at the time. time.
The Bibas family’s hopes were dashed when their names were not on the list of hostages to be released in the latest phase of a multi-stage ceasefire agreement. The family shared their anguish in a statement. According to the Times of Israel, the statement read: “Yesterday at 4pm, our world fell apart when the list of people scheduled for release was announced. I was expecting Ciri and the children to be added to the list that was supposed to include civilian women.”
Israeli authorities insist on the return of Kfir and Ariel, while Hamas says Shiri and her two sons are no longer alive. Israeli authorities have not confirmed this, and the uncertainty has left the family worried.
One analyst told ABC News that whether they are alive depends on who asks them. Their deaths, if confirmed, are likely to spark an outpouring of anger and grief in Israel, where their families have become symbols of the country’s darkest moments.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari expressed “deep concern” about the safety of the two remaining child hostages of the Bivas family in the Gaza Strip, AFP reported. Hagari said in a televised statement on Saturday that Israel insists on the return of Kfir and Ariel Vibas. “We are deeply concerned about their fate,” Hagari added, referring to the mother, whose death was announced by Hamas more than a year ago but not confirmed by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, the family’s appeal remains the same: “Ciri, Yarden, Ariel, Kfir – we continue to want and demand your return. It’s not over until it’s over,” they said in a statement. .
The three-phase ceasefire agreement is currently in its first phase, as part of which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages (women, children, men over 50, sick and injured) have been released, leaving approximately 2,000 Palestinians They are scheduled to be released in exchange for human prisoners of war and detainees.
The Qatari prime minister earlier said that in the first phase, Israeli forces would also withdraw from Gaza and displaced people would be allowed to return “to their places of residence.” The first stage lasts 6 weeks.
