Hamas announced on Tuesday they will release the bodies of the two youngest Israelis taken in the October 7, 2023, massacre.
Kfir, 2, and Ariel Bibas, 5, were taken along with their mother when the youngest was just 9 months old — having never celebrated a birthday in freedom. Israel has not officially confirmed the deaths of the two red-headed boys and their mother, Shiri. The office of the Israeli Prime Minister confirmed on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached during negotiations in Cairo for "four slain hostages" to be released this week and "six living hostages" to be released on Saturday.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum named the six Israeli hostages expected to be released on Saturday. "The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomes with profound joy the return of Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu this Saturday," the forum said in a statement.
"While we feel profound relief at their homecoming, we are devastated by the news that the remains of four of our loved ones will be returned this Thursday," the statement added.
A statement from the Bibas family read, "In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil following Hamas spokesperson's announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday as part of the hostages' remains release phase. We want to make it clear that while we are aware of these reports, we have not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter. Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over."
On Feb. 1, the father, Yarden Bibas, was released holding onto hope that his wife and children would be returned alive. In November 2023, Hamas claimed that Kfir and Ariel Bibas were killed along with their mother in an Israeli airstrike. A video was released of Yarden, who was a hostage at the time, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their deaths.
As of this past Saturday, 19 Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released from Gaza, and more than 1,000 Palestinians set free from Israeli prisons. Sixteen months after the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel believes that roughly 70 hostages are still being held, over half of who are believed to still be alive.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.