‘Hamas Executed a Mother and Her Two Children in Cold Blood’: Bibas Family Bodies Reportedly Included in Upcoming Hostage Release

Latest Developments

Bibas Family Said to Be Among Hostage Remains: Hamas will release the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages on February 20 and six living hostages two days later, the Iran-backed terrorist group said on February 18. A spokesperson for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that the families of all those scheduled for release had been notified. Israel has not yet named the four dead hostages slated for release, although one of them – 83-year-old Shlomo Mantzur – has already been declared dead, having been murdered during the Hamas mass atrocities of October 7, 2023. Hamas said that the bodies of hostage Shiri Bibas,33, and her two young children, five-year-old Ariel and two-year-old Kfir, would also be released, three weeks after their father Yarden, 35, was freed by the terrorist group. Israel has not yet confirmed that the remaining Bibas family members – who became emblematic of the plight of the hostages in Hamas captivity – are no longer alive. In a statement on X, the Republican majority on the House Foreign Affairs Committee remarked, “Hamas executed a mother and her two children in cold blood. This is barbarism. Israel has every right to finish the job and eradicate these terrorists from the face of the earth.”
Six Living Hostages Include Two Languishing in Gaza for Over a Decade: Living hostages scheduled for release on February 22 include Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, and Tal Shoham, all of whom were abducted during the Hamas massacre, and Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both of whom have languished in Gaza for more than a decade. Under the terms of the ceasefire deal ending hostilities in Gaza, three living hostages were scheduled for release on February 22, but the number has been doubled following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent declaration that all hostages be released by February 15 – a deadline that has already passed. “If the agreement in Cairo is carried out, it will be an important achievement for Israel,” an unnamed Israeli official said.
Phase Two Ceasefire Discussions Understood to be Imminent: In exchange for the hostages both living and dead, Israel is set to free 47 senior Hamas terrorists who were originally released under a 2011 prisoner exchange deal but were then rearrested by the Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire-hostage release agreement could begin “this week” following “discussions with our American friends.”

FDD Expert Response

“Israelis are bracing for difficult days as the nation awaits the four dead hostages to be returned by the Hamas terror organization. As the Jewish state prepares to lay these four souls to rest, it is a stark reminder of who this adversary is: a terror organization that ripped women and children from their beds, raped, pillaged and murdered, and has been holding the bodies of innocent civilians as leverage, knowing that Jerusalem would make major concessions in order to retrieve their citizens and allow for a dignified burial.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“If Israeli authorities confirm the murder of the remaining Bibas family members, it will be a profound loss for Yarden Bibas, his family, and the Jewish state. Hamas will doubtless attempt to deflect responsibility and blame Israel for their murders. The Islamist group and its allies in Gaza will be working overtime in the coming days to limit the damage to its image abroad if the news about the Bibas family is true.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal