Sydney relatives of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas hold out hope after Hamas claims they were killed
Two young children and their mother are feared dead, after Hamas claimed an Israeli airstrike killed them. Their Sydney family is trying to “stay sane” while they search for answers
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Sydney family of two children and their parents taken hostage by Hamas say they are just trying to “stay sane” while they wait to find out if their loved ones are dead or alive
Ten-month old baby Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, affectionately known as “The Reds” for their ginger hair, have reportedly been killed, although the Israeli Government is yet to confirm it
Mr Bibas’ aunt Michal spent Thursday desperately trying to get information from relatives in Israel and the government.
“We have not had official word yet … we don’t know what is true and what isn’t,” Michal’s husband said at their north shore home.
Hamas has reported the children and their mother Shiri were killed in earlier Israeli air strikes, the fate of their father Yarden also kidnapped remained unknown.
Michal posted a heartbreaking picture of the two children – her great-niece and nephew – with the caption “We are waiting for you. Please come home safe” she wrote.
The devastated woman and her husband said they hoped to know more by late on Thursday night.
“Right now we are doing what we can to stay sane … it’s devastating,” Michal’s husband said.
The Reds came to symbolise the brutality of the October 7 raid – that killed 1200 people – when the image of their mother clutching her children, including Kfir the youngest of all hostages, made headlines around the world.
The family were believed to have been passed from Hamas to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militants to take them to southern Gaza early in the war.
Israel said it was still investigating the Hamas claim and demanded proof while the Bibas family said they hoped the children were not being “held as a trophy”.
Despite their apparent deaths, the overall hostage release prisoner swap objective was unlikely to be derailed.
On Thursday 16 hostages were released, five teenagers, seven women and four Thai nationals.
The women and children were dual US, Dutch, Russian and German citizens.
At the current rate of hostage release and should the ceasefire extension be confirmed, all the women and children should be freed allowing for Hamas and Israel – via Qatari negotiators – to progress talks on releasing 126 men being held captive including “several dozen” IDF soldiers.
In exchange for the males, Hamas has demanded hundreds of Palestinians including men be released from Israel jails; so far only women and children detained in Israeli jails have been part of the prisoner exchange.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday, his third trip to the region since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack, to be part of ceasefire extension negotiations and was set to meet with Israel’s leaders.
He is also expected to visit the Israeli-occupied West Bank and to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Looking at the next couple of days, we’ll be focused on doing what we can to extend the pause so we can continue to get more hostages out and more humanitarian assistance in,” Mr Blinken said. US President Joe Biden also said he hoped the ceasefire could be extended.
Blinken is also urging Israel narrow the zone of combat and clarify where Palestinian civilians can seek safety during any Israeli operation in the now densely populated southern Gaza, echoing international concerns over the risk of more civilian Palestinian deaths.
In the West Bank on Thursday, Israeli troops killed two Palestinian boys – an eight-year-old an a 15-year-old – during a raid on the town of Jenin. The IDF claimed they were throwing explosives but the only footage available shows them just running away from troops moving through the refugee camp.
Abbas has expressed reluctance to wanting to take over Gaza after the war and was deeply unpopular already in the West Bank due to his perceived failures in halting Jewish Settler occupation and violence in the Palestinian territory.
More Coverage
Originally published as Sydney relatives of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas hold out hope after Hamas claims they were killed
Skull shaped MDMA tablets trigger public health warning
As the music festival season begins, NSW Health is urging the public of the dangers of high-dose skullshaped MDMA, ecstasy tablets circulating across the state.
‘Unanimous’ refusal for Yamba over 50s housing estate
Clarence Valley residents concerned about developments on flood-plains will be relieved that a controversial Yamba housing project has been denied and deemed ‘not in the public interest’.
Plague proportions: What’s behind surge in mosquitoes
Swarms of mosquitoes are plaguing residents in southwest Sydney after an outbreak of larvae was detected at a nearby water recycling plant.
Penny Wong buys $3.4m luxury home weeks after PM’s beach buy
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has purchased a $3.4 million property in one of Adelaide’s most exclusive suburbs just weeks after her boss Anthony Albanese snapped up a $4.3m luxury pad.
Water bills to jump 50 per cent amid population explosion
Sydney Water argues that it needs to spend $26 billion to safeguard water supply from unprecedented growth — and consumers will pay for it.
PM has a massive sook about flight perks scrutiny
Anthony Albanese has told his colleagues he has been unfairly scrutinised by the media over his Qantas flight upgrades and claimed the furore would soon die down.