When Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas were not on the list of the names of the captives set to be released on Saturday, “our world caved in on us,” their family said in a post on Instagram.
Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir – as civilian women and children – should have been released before female soldiers, according to the terms of the hostage deal.
When Hamas announced that four female soldiers - Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, and Naama Levy would be released on Saturday, it raised questions regarding the release of the Bibas family, as well as Arbel Yehoud – another civilian woman being held by Hamas.
Hamas has since announced that Arbel Yehoud will be released next week, Reuters reported, and Israel is working to ensure her release comes sooner.The Bibas relatives added that hearing that their family members were not on the list for Saturday was earth-shattering despite the fact that they had been prepared for the possibility in advance.
“We had hoped to see Shiri and the kids on the list, which was supposed to be a list of civilians,” the family said.“An exciting and complex day is ahead of us. Liri, Daniella, Naama, and Karina, we are waiting to see you smiling and surrounded by your amazing families at home.“Shiri, Yarden, Ariel, and Kfir, we will continue to hope and demand you [are brought home],” they said.“It’s not over until it’s over.”Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with father Yarden Bibas, who is also slated to be released in the first stage of the deal.
Concern for the Bibas families wellbeing
There is “serious concern” regarding the well-being of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, IDF Chief Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Saturday, also noting that the IDF remains “steadfast in our determination” to bring them home.Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigade claimed in November 2023 that Shiri and her two sons had been killed, but the IDF has not established if these claims are true.Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have previously made false claims about the status of the hostages.The family addressed concerns about Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir’s well-being, stressing that this concern does not absolve the state from its obligation to give the family certainty or the media from speaking about them.“In the evening, when we turned on the news, our pain, our fight, and mostly the vital discussion of the complexity and disaster of the fact that they are not on the list was gone, not talked about by journalists in the studios,” the family said.“Does the serious concern for their lives cancel out the fact that they are civilians in captivity who need to come home?” the family asked, also asking if it cancels the state’s obligation to give the family certainty regarding the fate of their loved ones, or if it cancels out the need to show Shiri’s picture as a civilian held hostage in Gaza.“The answer is no.”