Family and friends gathered Wednesday to lay slain hostages Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas to rest after thousands accompanied them along the road to their final resting place at Tzohar cemetery in the South.
Attendees were tear-stricken and visibly distraught as they struggled through their final goodbyes to the young mother and her infant children, who they had desperately hoped to see rescued from captivity alive.
Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel were buried together in one coffin near the graves of Shiri’s parents, Margit and Yossi Silberman, who were murdered on October 7.
“Mi amor,” Yarden Bibas – Shiri’s husband and Kfir and Ariel’s father, who was freed from captivity in the most recent hostage deal – said through barely suppressed tears.
“I remember the first time I said ‘mi amor’ to you. It was at the very beginning of our relationship. You told me to only call you that if I was certain I loved you, not to say it carelessly.”
“I didn’t say it then because I didn’t want you to think I was rushing to say ‘I love you.’ Shiri, I’ll confess to you now that I already loved you back then when I said ‘mi amor,’” he said.
“How am I supposed to make decisions without you?” he asked her.
“Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room, I asked if we should fight or surrender. You said fight, so I fought. Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all. If only I had known what would happen, I wouldn’t have fired.”
Yarden asked Shiri to protect and watch over him. “Shield me from harmful things and protect me from myself. Guard me so I don’t sink into darkness.”
“Shiri, this is the closest I’ve been to you since October 7th, and I can’t kiss or hug you, and it’s breaking me,” he added.Yarden also spoke to his four-year-old son Ariel. “You made me a father. You transformed us into a family. You taught me what truly matters in life and about responsibility,” he said.
Addressing his infant son Kfir, Yarden said he had not thought that his family could be more perfect until Kfir “came and made it even more perfect.”
“You brought more light and happiness to our little home. You came with your sweet, captivating laugh and smile, and I was instantly hooked.”
He also asked forgiveness from his two young sons. “Ariel, I hope you’re not angry with me for failing to protect you properly and for not being there for you. I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute.”
“Kfir, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better, but I need you to know that I love you deeply and miss you terribly,” he said.Songs chosen by Yarden and dedicated to his family interspersed the eulogies.Zakk Wyle’s “I Thank You Child” played:
You’re all & everything to me
Til the end of times you know you’ll always be
Ain’t no second guess
Oh you put my worried soul to rest
Yarden’s sister Ofri Bibas Levy also spoke at the funeral, addressing the last year of uncertainty.
“I’ve been writing these words in my mind for over a year,” she said, adding that “each time my mind began to formulate them, I forcefully pushed the words away – with the power of my love for you and Yarden, with the strength of hope that you would return.”
“This is not how I hoped to meet you again. How does one begin to say goodbye?” she added.
“Many people ask for your forgiveness, and Yarden’s, and ours. But the blame is not on them. This disaster should not have happened. You should not have been taken, and you should have returned alive.”
“There is no meaning to forgiveness before the failures are investigated, and all officials take responsibility. Our disaster as a nation and as a family should not have happened and must never happen again,” she added.
“They could have saved you but preferred revenge,” she said.
“Our struggle against the enemies will be eternal, but we must always sanctify life, love of fellow humans, respect for the dead, and never leave anyone behind. Otherwise, we lose who we are.”
Ofri said that her child Toam drew pictures for Ariel and that Ofri would leave them on his grave.
Yarden also chose to play “Hold On to Memories” by Disturbed, stating that this song should be a message urging people to live life to the fullest.
Don’t let it break your heart
I know it feels hopeless sometimes
But they’re never really gone
As long as there’s a memory in your mind
Shiri’s sister, Dana Silberman Sitton, also said she had been preparing herself for this moment for a year, adding that nothing could actually prepare her to say goodbye.
With her family comforting her as she broke into tears, Dana spoke about how much she and Shiri looked forward to becoming aunts.
Speaking to Ariel and Kfir, she said, “You were both my beloved, special, and one-of-a-kind nephews. You’ll be in our hearts for eternity and forever present in our lives.”
She asked Shiri to “hug Dad and Mom tightly for me and watch over them for me” and to “please send energies here to drive all evil from the world and leave only goodness.”
“I want to ask your forgiveness on behalf of our leadership and military who weren’t there for you that day, and who took so long to bring you back to your homeland,” she said.
'Monsters beyond fence will not succeed'
"I promise you, as I promised Mom and Dad, that the monsters beyond the fence will not succeed in their mission. They will not defeat us; they will not break us. On the contrary, their mission failed because we united, because we grew stronger, because we became invincible. They lost."
Yarden also dedicated Avenged Sevenfold’s "Roman Sky" to his family.
Just before you go, tell us how the heavens flow
Weightless evermore, as you walk beyond that door
Shine forever true