“May the memories of your beloved children and your wife, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, be a blessing to you. Always,” Disturbed’s lead singer tells Yarden Bibas.

By World Israel News Staff

The lead singer of a prominent rock band recorded a heartfelt message to Yarden Bibas on Wednesday after the bereaved father chose one of his songs to play at his family’s funeral.

The funeral of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas featured the song “Hold On To The Memories” by the alternative metal band Disturbed. The band’s lead singer and lyricist, David Draiman, is Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel.

Draiman posted a video to his Instagram account in which he directly addressed Yarden Bibas.

“Dear, dear Yarden. Shalom achi [hello my brother.] I am so, so very sorry for your loss. All of Am Israel [the Jewish people] is crying with you today. Hold on to the memories of your family, of your children, of your beloved wife. We all will,” Draiman said.

“As long as we hold them in our memory, they’ll stay there. May the memories of your beloved children and your wife, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, be a blessing to you. Always,” he continued.

“Am Israel Chai achi [the people of Israel live.] Stay strong,” Draiman concluded.

Since the onset of the October 7th war, Draiman has used social media to combat anti-Israel and pro-Hamas narratives.

In March 2024, a video of Draiman speaking to the crowd at a Distrubed concert went viral as he railed against the Hamas terror group.

“I miss people who were slaughtered like animals at the Nova Festival. Rape is not resistance. Slaughtering innocents at a music festival that brings together people from all walks of life is not resistance,” he said.

“I genuinely feel empathy for the Palestinian people. There is not a single Jew on this planet that does not celebrate life. We celebrate life. Hamas celebrates death, and they need to be eradicated; not the Palestinians, Hamas. We need to save Gaza from Hamas.”

At the time, Draiman told the Jewish Chronicle that he “lost friends at the Nova Festival. So many were slaughtered. Even after all of these months, I can’t shake the state of shock.”

The post Jewish rock star to Yarden Bibas: ‘Stay strong, brother’ appeared first on World Israel News.

Danon pointed out the hypocrisy of the UN’s intense focus on the fate of children in Gaza and the lack of attention paid to the youngest Israeli hostages.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized the UN Security Council on Thursday for its silence over the plight of the Bibas children still held in Gaza.

He pointed out the hypocrisy of the body’s focus on the fate of children in Gaza but not one word about the youngest Israeli hostages.

“Why didn’t you hold a discussion on the situation of children in Israel?” Danon asked.

He added, “You are blind to their pain and their tears.”

Danon held up a picture of Kfir Bibas and said, “Perhaps you have forgotten about little Kfir Bibas, but I promise you, we haven’t.”

He continued, “Kfir Bibas was nine months old when he was ripped from his bed, along with his four-year-old brother, Ariel, and his parents, Shiri and Yarden. He has remained in the darkness of Hamas’s terror dungeons.”

Since the family was kidnapped on October 7th, 2023, neither the Israeli government nor relatives have received any news about them, including the state of their health.

Danon included the Red Cross in his criticism, saying, “We have received no word, nothing, about [Kfir’s] condition. No visits from the Red Cross, no offers of assistance, and no outrage from the UN.”

He continued, “Do you not hear the cries of Israeli children? Do you not feel the pain of Israeli children? Do you not see their tears? If you did, if you cared for anything other than political agendas, this session would discuss Kfir Bibas and all those Israel children still suffering as well.”

“Our children, every single one, deserve more than your silence. They deserve more than your indifference. They deserve their lives back,” Danon said.

Danon then pointed out the irony of the UN’s intense focus on children in Gaza, when Hamas puts the children of Gaza in danger by embedding terror infrastructure in schools and hospitals, effectively using children as human shields.

“Hamas, not Israel, is the one who turned Gaza into a war zone. Hamas, not Israel, is using children as human shields. Hamas, not Israel, is placing its terror infrastructure in schools, hospitals, and residential neighborhoods.

“When will you do something effective against Hamas to change the future of the children of the world?”

The post Israeli ambassador Danon slams UN’s silence over Bibas children held in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

In a video that went viral, two red-headed children resembling the taken Bibas children were seen, however, a family in Gaza cleared the air and released a video showing it was unfortunately not the young Israelis.

The post WATCH: Suspected Bibas children confirmed to be Gazan family appeared first on World Israel News.

Although it has not been confirmed, the boys in the video eerily match the appearance of the young Israeli children who were taken along with their parents to Gaza on Oct. 7th.

The post WATCH: Children closely resembling Bibas boys seen in Gazan Instagram video appeared first on World Israel News.

Relatives of Bibas family, taken captive on October 7th, castigate Hamas after new footage released.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The relatives of an Israeli family taken captive by Hamas terrorists during the invasion of southwestern Israel on October 7th urged leaders in Israel and abroad to ensure the safe return of their loved ones, after talks between the Gaza-based terror group and Israel were suspend over the weekend.

Relatives of the Bibas family responded Monday to the release of security camera footage from several days after the October 7th invasion, showing Mrs. Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, in captivity.

The three were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in their home in Nir Oz on October 7th, while Shiri’s husband, Yarden, was separately captured and taken into captivity in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, IDF chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced that Israeli forces had located video footage of the Bibas family, filmed several days after they were taken captive.

Later on Monday, relatives of the four captives castigated Hamas, and reiterated their calls for Israeli leaders and those abroad involved with the talks aimed at a hostage deal to ensure the release of the Bibas family.

“These videos tear our hearts out,’ the family said in a statement. “Witnessing Shiri, Yarden, Ariel and Kfir, ripped away from their home in Nir Oz into this hellscape, feels unbearable and inhumane.”

“Kidnapping children is a crime against humanity and a war crime. Ariel and Kfir are victims of monstrous evil. Our whole family has become hostages along with all the hostages.”

“We desperately call on all decision-makers in Israel and worldwide involved in negotiations: Bring them home immediately. Make it clear to Hamas that taking children is beyond the pale. Prioritize the return of these children first and foremost in any agreement.”

“We want to thank the public in Israel and worldwide who support us, and ask you to continue the struggle for their return home.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded to the release of the video Monday, calling for the immediate return of the Bibas family.

“One word. Barbarity. Hamas terrorists carry away the Bibas family into captivity. Kfir Bibas, just a year old, is the youngest hostage in the world. The whole world must demand and work to bring them home now”

In late November, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in a statement the IDF called “cruel and inhuman” psychological warfare.

Israel has yet to confirm the fate of the Bibas family. In at least one instance, Hamas has falsely claimed an Israeli hostage – Hannah Katzir – was killed in an airstrike. Katzir was later returned to Israel in a hostage release.

The post New video ‘tore our hearts out,’ say relatives of Israeli family held captive in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

The Bibas family, Yarden the father along with the mother Shiri, and children Kfir and Ariel, have been held hostage since Oct. 7th and haven’t been seen since.

The post WATCH: New footage emerges of the Bibas family in Gaza shortly after abduction appeared first on World Israel News.