IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated, “We can confirm that baby Kfir Bibas, just 10 months old, and his older brother Ariel, aged four, were brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza, no later than November 2023. These two innocent children were taken alive, along with their mother, Shiri, from their home on 7 October 2023.”
Hamas, however, has denied the IDF’s claims, asserting that the Bibas children and their mother, Shiri, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Hagari dismissed these allegations as false, stating that Ariel and Kfir were “murdered in cold blood” by Hamas terrorists.
Hagari elaborated, “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys—they killed them with their bare hands.
After wards, they committed horrific acts to conceal these atrocities. This assessment is based on forensic evidence and intelligence that supports these conclusions. We have shared this intelligence and forensic findings with our international partners for verification.”
He continued, “The world must understand the true nature of the Hamas terrorist organization. Ariel and Kfir were murdered, and their bodies were returned yesterday in a cynical and cruel ceremony in Gaza. Shiri Bibas, who was supposed to be returned to Israel with her children as part of the agreement, was not released by Hamas. Hamas lied and violated the agreement.”
Hagari also revealed that Hamas had falsely claimed to return Shiri Bibas’s body, but the remains sent were not hers nor those of any other hostage. Instead, Hamas provided the body of an unidentified woman. “This is further evidence of Hamas’s barbaric cruelty,” Hagari said. Israel has demanded the immediate return of Shiri Bibas to her home country.
It is important to note that Israel’s claims have not yet been independently verified by external sources.
