JERUSALEM: Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two sons Ariel and Kfir, whose bodies have been returned from Gaza, will be laid to rest on Wednesday, said their family, urging the public to line the procession route.
“This Wednesday we will accompany Shiri, Kfir and Ariel on their final journey,” Yarden Bibas, the bereaved husband and father, said in a joint message with Shiri’s sister, Dana Siton Silberman.
The family of four were seized by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip.
Ariel was aged four at the time and Kfir nine months.
The father, Yarden, was recently released from Gaza under a fragile truce. Shiri, Kfir and Ariel had died in captivity.
The remains of the family who had become symbols of Israel’s hostage ordeal were among the first to be returned under the truce deal this week.
Also read: Hamas will pay for not returning body of Shiri Bibas: Netanyahu
The handover sparked anger in Israel when the remains of the mother were not initially returned, promoting Hamas to admit a possible “mix-up of bodies” and finally hand over hers.
Yarden Bibas and his sister-in-law said in their statement that the funeral would “only be for members of the family and close friends”, but that they wanted to let “whoever wishes to pay their respects and be a part of this moment to do so”.
“The route of the funeral procession will be published in order to enable anyone who wishes to do so to accompany our loved ones on their final journey,” they said.
The family expressed their gratitude for the support they have received from the public.
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,” Bibas and Siton Silberman said.
Hamas has long insisted that an Israeli air strike killed Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas early in the war, but an Israeli autopsy said there was no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing.