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The family of the youngest hostage being held captive by Hamas in Gaza has appealed for all captives not to be forgotten following an escalation of the war with Israel’s ground attack on Lebanon.
Kfir Bibas was eight months old when Hamas militants took him captive along with his four-year-old brother Ariel, mother Shiri and father Yarden from the Nir Oz kibbutz.
They were among more than 200 people seized and 1,200 people killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year. This triggered a war in which more than 41,00 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment of Gaza and a ceasefire deal that remains elusive.
Kfir's aunt Ofri Bibas-Levy and other relatives said Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon have sparked yet more concern and urged world leaders and the Israeli government to work for a ceasefire that includes the hostages as the one-year anniversary approaches.
“I feel in some way the hostage situation has been put to the back,” Ms Bibas-Levy said in a virtual conference organised this week by the Hostages Families Forum.
aunt of Kfir and Ofri, who are being held by Hamas
“That’s why we are trying to talk everywhere, to keep reminding that whatever is going on in the north we still have 101 hostages in Gaza waiting for us to rescue them and they cannot be forgotten.”
As the anniversary of the October 7 attacks approaches, just 117 hostages have been freed, 78 of those Israeli women and children have been released.
Last children in captivity
Ms Bibas-Levy, Yarden’s sister, said she hoped for a ceasefire agreement that included both Gaza and Lebanon.
“What I ask for all the leaders of the world that are pushing for a ceasefire in Lebanon, it cannot be done without including the hostages in it,” she said.
“We cannot leave them behind. We cannot sacrifice them. For me, if Lebanon goes to ceasefire without the hostages it’s like a death sentence for my family. So I’m really hoping the Israeli government, all the negotiators will find a solution that will include the north and south together.”
For the Bibas family, the spotlight has been unrelenting due to Kfir being the youngest hostage. The family also mourned the deaths of Shiri’s parents who were killed when their home was razed by Hamas on October 7.
In videos of the October 7 attack, a distraught Shiri holds her two redhead boys and is surrounded by Hamas gunmen during the assault on the kibbutz. Later, security camera footage shows the mother and two boys being bundled into a car by Hamas militia in Khan Younis.
Hamas also released a video of a sobbing Yarden Bibas being told that his wife and children died in an Israeli strike. The Israel Defence Force have said the information was not verified and accused Hamas of “psychological terror”.
“Our family became famous, if you can call it that, on the first day when Shiri and the boys’ pictures and video were published. Unfortunately, maybe because of that, they are still there. They are the last children still in captivity,” Ms Bibas-Levy said.
"For an entire year, you have like a stone sitting on your heart. You can't breathe properly, you can't live your life. My heart and my thoughts are always with them – trying to think what else we can do to bring them back.”
Children who need to be saved
There have been numerous demonstrations in Israel calling for a ceasefire. Rallies planned this week in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were cancelled as the Israeli government cited the security situation following Houthi strikes and the recent barrage of about 200 missiles by Iran.
After the October 7 attack, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia based in Lebanon announced it would support its ally Hamas and fired rockets into Israel. That has escalated into an all-out war in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,974 people and displaced up to a million in Lebanon over the past year. The Israeli army this week began a ground invasion in south Lebanon.
The Bibas family spoke of the continued support among the Israeli public and officials for an end to the war.
Yifat Zailer, a cousin of Shiri Bibas, said on October 7 the family would pay their respects to Shiri’s parents at their grave and take part in a ceremony at the Nir Or kibbutz, one of the worst communities hit in the Hamas attack.
“I was raised to know that peace is possible and then October 7 happened,” Ms Zailer said.
“But people that I meet, politicians also tell us behind the camera that they support the ceasefire, they understand that returning the hostages – this is the best way to save lives.
“We are here to remind everyone, here in Israel and in the world, that the hostages are not a political issue, saving lives is not a political issue. Kfir and Ariel don’t have a political point of view, those are two minor children who need to be saved.”
The family said they gained strength from remembering the hostages and celebrating milestones such as Kfir’s first and Ariel’s fifth birthdays.
“We need to raise our children not to hate and not to be afraid for the future here in the Middle East,” Ms Zailer said.
“I hope that Kfir and Ariel can come back and recover from this because until they come back we can’t recover our family.”
