The funeral for Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, will take place on Wednesday in a private ceremony in Zohar, near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. The family announced on Monday that they would share the route of the funeral procession so that the public could pay their respects before the burial.
“The warm embrace, the love and the strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world strengthen us and accompany us during these moments of crisis,” the family wrote in a statement on social media. “We are aware that many of you want to be there, to pay your respects, to express your love and to say your goodbyes together with us.”
The family also requested that people honor their wish for privacy. “Please respect our choice to say our goodbyes during these final moments in the way that is right for us,” they stated.
To accommodate those wishing to participate, the family has arranged for the eulogies to be broadcast live.
Following the announcement, the Hostages Families Forum called on the public to stand along the funeral procession route and bring Israeli flags in a show of solidarity.
The procession is scheduled to leave from Rishon Lezion at 7:45 a.m., with the eulogies set to begin at 11:30 a.m. and streamed live for those unable to attend.
Shiri Bibas, her husband Yarden, and their two children were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others, an assault that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.
As part of a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, the bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were returned after more than a month in captivity. Yarden Bibas, however, was among those who made it back alive, reuniting with his family on February 1.
The remains of Ariel, age 4, and his nine-month-old brother Kfir were handed over on Thursday. Alongside them, Hamas also returned the body of hostage Oded Lifshitz and a deceased Gazan woman, whom the terror group initially misrepresented as Shiri Bibas. Following objections from Israel, Hamas later handed over Shiri’s body early Saturday.
Israeli authorities, after formally identifying her remains, concluded that Shiri and her two sons were “brutally” murdered by their captors in November 2023—contradicting Hamas’s earlier claims that the three had died in an Israeli airstrike.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated on Friday that the boys were killed “in cold blood” and that their captors “used their bare hands” to commit horrific acts, attempting to erase the evidence of their crimes. According to Hagari, Yarden Bibas has pleaded for the world to “know and be horrified” by what was done to his wife and children.
On Sunday, Yarden’s sister, Ofri Bibas Levy, shared that while the public’s support has been deeply moving, Yarden is still struggling to come to terms with the horrific news and is finding the widespread attention overwhelming.
She described the family’s emotional turmoil over the past several weeks—first celebrating Yarden’s return, only to be devastated by the confirmation of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir’s murders. “At times,” she said, “Yarden wonders how Shiri would respond to all this, and Shiri is not here to go through it with him.”
She also relayed a message from Yarden, emphasizing that there is no need for anyone to apologize. “The forgiveness should come, first and foremost, in the return of all the hostages,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to initiate negotiations for a second phase of the hostage deal. His right-wing coalition partners have warned that they will dismantle the government if he agrees to a deal that involves Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the remaining captives.
At a military event on Sunday, Netanyahu—whom Ofri Bibas Levy has accused of failing to apologize for leaving the Bibas family in captivity—held up a photograph of Shiri and her children, calling them a symbol of “what we are fighting for, and whom we are fighting against.”
The move sparked an angry response from some in attendance. According to Israeli media reports, members of the audience shouted at him, demanding, “Why didn’t you get them out?”
The tragic fate of the Bibas family has reverberated across Israel and beyond. In a tribute to Ariel and Kfir’s red hair, public landmarks have been illuminated in orange as a sign of mourning.
In Argentina, the government has declared two days of mourning for the two boys, who, like their parents, held both Israeli and Argentine citizenship. Yamil Santoro, a municipal lawmaker in Buenos Aires, has announced efforts to rename the city’s Palestine Street in honor of the Bibas family.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, the close-knit community where the Bibas family lived, was devastated in the October 7 attack. Out of its roughly 400 residents, nearly a quarter were either killed or kidnapped. The survivors have since relocated to temporary housing in Kiryat Gat.
At a gathering of displaced Nir Oz residents on Shabbos, the mother of one of Ariel Bibas’s classmates shared how her young son, Yoav, has been struggling to grasp what happened to his friend.
“Yoav said that maybe they liked Ariel so much, because he’s so funny, that it was hard for the terrorists to let him go,” she recounted. “I had to explain to Yoav that whoever dies can’t come back to life.”
{Matzav.com Israel}