Ofri Bibas, the sister of freed hostage Yarden Bibas, sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Tuesday, telling him to “shut up” after he repeatedly described the tragic killings of her sister-in-law, Shiri, and her nephews, Ariel and Kfir, despite the family’s wishes to keep those details private.
She also expressed frustration with Israeli media outlets, social media users, and public officials, accusing them of disregarding the family’s explicit requests. Ofri called the publication of such details “abuse for its own sake of a family that has gone through 16 months of hell and still has the worst ahead,” in a Facebook post just one day before the funeral of her sister-in-law and nephews.
In his remarks, Netanyahu provided a detailed account of the boys’ deaths in a speech before the American Israel Public Action Committee on Tuesday. He also referenced the horrific murders during a military ceremony on Sunday, holding a photograph of the victims.
After Netanyahu’s speech on Sunday, the Bibas family sent a cease and desist letter to Netanyahu’s office and other government officials, urging them to stop sharing information about the murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir. The Ynet news site reported on this action.
The Bibas family also issued a public statement through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Saturday, calling on media outlets to “stop adding details to the fact that Shiri and the kids were murdered by their captors.”
On October 7, 2023, Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz when a wave of Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, which marked the start of the war in Gaza.
Hamas released the bodies of several hostages, including Oded Lifshitz, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and an unidentified woman, whom they claimed was Shiri. Following Israel’s protests, Hamas returned Shiri Bibas’s body on Shabbos. Yarden Bibas was released on February 1.
The return of the Bibas family members occurred as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement, which included the release of 33 women, children, elderly men, and others considered “humanitarian cases.”
On Friday, after the bodies of Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, were identified, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed that the boys were murdered “in cold blood” by their captors in November 2023 and that the perpetrators attempted to destroy the evidence. This contradicted Hamas’s claim that the boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Hagari also shared that Yarden had asked him to ensure the world “knows and is horrified by the way his children were murdered.”
In response to an Israeli journalist accusing others of exploiting the family’s suffering for propaganda, Ofri Bibas stated, “It’s very easy for everyone to speak on behalf of the Bibas family.”
She clarified, “As someone who sat in the room with Hagari that day, I’ll write this: Yarden and the family approved, word for word, what the IDF spokesman said in the statement. Nothing more.”
Ofri pointed out that authorities had yet to finalize their report on the murders, let alone share it with the family. She expressed her anger at learning the details from “the media, public diplomacy apparatus, Twitter users and yes, for whatever reason, even the prime minister.”
“If I could say one thing to everyone on behalf of the Bibas family: Just shut up,” Ofri wrote.
She added, “There are many ways to conduct public diplomacy [which, by the way, has not been done here since October 7] sensitively, respectfully and in coordination with the family,” and emphasized that it was futile to engage with her at that moment as the family was focused on preparing for the funeral. “We’re getting ready for tomorrow and trying to think how we could possibly bury Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.”
The burial will take place in a private ceremony in Zohar, near Nir Oz, after a public procession. The family has invited the public to join the procession and will livestream the eulogies.
Ofri Bibas has previously accused Netanyahu of failing to offer an apology for the suffering her family endured. On behalf of her brother, she stated, “forgiveness should come first and foremost with the return of all the hostages.”
Netanyahu has delayed proceeding with the second phase of the hostage deal, which would see the release of the remaining living hostages. His right-wing allies have threatened to destabilize the government if Israel proceeds with the second phase, which would involve pulling out of Gaza.
{Matzav.com Israel}