Everyone wants to know: Where is Shiri Bibas?
Put yourself in the shoes of Yarden Bibas, her husband.
Kidnapped from his own home early in the morning, in his pajamas, alongside his wife and two small sons. A family, together, torn from one another by Hamas terrorists. Pulled beneath the earth into the darkness of Gaza's tunnels, where there is no sunlight, no fresh air, no comfort—just terror. Days upon days of psychological anguish, hunger, squalor, and the agonizing crush of not knowing.
For almost 500 days, Yarden waited in the darkness, tormented by questions with no answers. Was his wife alive? Were his children all right? Were they suffering? He could only wait, tormented by each ticking moment. Then, suddenly, he was released. But not them. He came out of Gaza alone, his wife and children still hostages of Hamas.
He held on to hope, for what else did he have? And then the news came: his family's remains were finally coming home. Not the homecoming he'd prayed for, but at least he'd have them back.
Except he didn't.
Ariel and Kfir Bibas—his babies—were killed. Not casualties of war. Not by accident. Hamas killed them in captivity. They were taken alive, and they were killed. A boy of four years old and his ten-month-old baby brother. What monsters do this?
Hamas lied
And Shiri? Hamas said they were returning her too, but they lied. The body they brought back was not hers. Another woman, a stranger, a lie so vile as to be unfathomable. After everything Yarden has been through, he is left to face another unimaginable question: Where is Shiri?
How does he survive this? How does he wake up in the morning knowing that the family he built, the love of his life, his precious children, are dead? He lived, but at what cost? He left Gaza emaciated, his body a shadow of its former self, his soul broken.
And yet, the world negotiates. The world still preaches restraint. The world still tells Israel to sit down at the table with Hamas, as if Hamas is anything but butchers. The world looks away.
But Yarden cannot look away. Nor can we.
There can be no question what must be done now. Hamas must be annihilated, completely and without mercy. There can be no peace while they still live, no justice while even one hostage remains in their hands. And there can be no rest until Yarden Bibas receives his answer to such a simple question: Where is Shiri?