Hamas official says bodies of Bibas family will return to Israel on Thursday

 Greta Thunberg and her designer scarf friends will be pleased at this, I'm sure.  I dread asking: how did they die at the hand of Hamas?

The return of the bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas would mark a tragic end to 16 months of activism, protest and prayer on behalf of the family.

 

"A Hamas official has announced that the terror group will return the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, among them the Bibas family.

"Hamas is also due to release six living hostages on Saturday.

"The six hostages scheduled to be released are Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu. Their families have been notified.

"The return of the bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas would mark a tragic end to 16 months of activism, protest and prayer on behalf of the family, who more than anyone else became symbols of the Israeli hostages’ plight.Kfir and Ariel’s father, Shiri’s husband Yarden, was also taken hostage and held separately. He was released earlier this month.          

 

Kfir before Hamas came.

"An image of Shiri clutching the two boys, then ages 9 months and 4, as they were abducted into Gaza circulated widely after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Since then, their names and pictures, identifiable by the boys’ red hair, have been at the center of global efforts to secure the hostages’ release, have symbolized the atrocities of Oct. 7 and have animated the prayers and hopes of Jews and other advocates worldwide. Images of the family in happier times have spread worldwide."Since a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, Kfir and Ariel Bibas have been the only two children held hostage in Gaza. Hamas claimed in November 2023 that Shiri and the two boys had been killed, and Israel said it was investigating the claim but did not confirm it. In the year-plus since, advocates for the hostages have held out hope that the family remained alive.

"In recent weeks, Israel has broadcast increasing worry about Shiri, Kfir and Ariel, who are on the list of hostages to be released during the current ceasefire. An Israeli official expressed “grave concerns” for their fate. Concerns rose further after Hamas announced that eight of the 33 hostages due to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire were dead." . . .

Hamas To Return Bodies Of Bibas Babies, The Two Youngest Hostages Killed

. . ."The Bibas children — along with their mother Shiri and father Yarden — were among those kidnapped and taken into Gaza on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists breached the border into Israel and killed more than 1200 people. They tortured, raped, and slaughtered hundreds of Israeli men, women, and children — and then returned to Gaza with dozens more as their hostages." . . .