Tens of thousands mourn Bibas family as mother, children laid to rest

Crowds hold orange balloons, Israeli flags, and signs saying “Sorry”, sing Hatikva,  as the funeral procession left its starting point in Rishon Lezion.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Tens of thousands of Israelis lined the route being taken Wednesday morning to bring to rest the Bibas family members murdered by Hamas, with the funeral procession making its way from central Israel to the cemetery near their Gaza-border home, Kibbutz Nir Oz.

The family, who had stated earlier in the week that the funeral itself would be private, had published the approximate times the coffin-laden cars carrying Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir (9 months) and Ariel (4) would pass various intersections in the country.

The procession began around 8 AM at the religious burial society of Rishon Lezion, and thousands stood in the cold to honor the family.

They held orange balloons, referring to the color of the young children’s hair, orange and Israeli flags, and many signs, among them those saying “Sorry.”

The apology was for the inability to save the three, whose picture, of an obviously terrified Shiri clutching her babies as terrorists surrounded her, became one of the most famous depictions of Hamas’ brutality on October 7, 2023, when the terrorists took 251 people hostage in all, and slaughtered 1,200 during their surprise invasion of Israel.

Some of the onlookers burst into tears as the vehicles bearing the bodies passed by, while others sang Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem.

In a statement to the masses of people paying their respects, the Bibas family said, “We see and hear you; we are moved and strengthened by you.”

“Yarden apologizes for not being able to come and hug each and every one of you,” it continued. “We hope for the day when we can once again be together in moments of joy and not sadness.”

All three family members were buried in the same grave.

Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the children’s father, had been abducted separately and never saw his family in captivity.

After the terrorists murdered them about a month into the war, they cruelly told him that an IDF airstrike had killed them, but provided no proof of their deaths, psychologically torturing him in addition to subjecting him to starvation and other harsh physical conditions until he was released on February 1.

When the bodies were returned last week, at first Hamas tried to pass off a Palestinian body as Shiri’s but their subterfuge was immediately discovered and they bowed to the pressure to return her two days later.

Forensic investigators proved that the terrorists had strangled Kfir and Ariel, but tried to make it look like they had died from an Israeli jet’s missile by crushing their skulls afterwards.

These were horrific details that became public knowledge after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described this abuse of the victims in two different forums this week as proof of Hamas’ evil.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari had said after the bodies were identified Friday that the children had been murdered “in cold blood” and with “bare hands,” and that their captors had then “committed horrific acts” to cover up their crime.

According to Ofri Bibas, Yarden’s sister, the family had wanted the details mentioned by Netanyahu kept private, saying in response to the extra revelations, “If I could say one thing to everyone on behalf of the Bibas family: Just shut up.”

“As someone who sat in the room with Hagari that day, I’ll write this: Yarden and the family approved, word for word, what the IDF spokesman said in the statement. Nothing more,” she said.

According to journalist Yossi Melman, however, Yarden had approved the dissemination of this added information.

The funeral ceremony and eulogies will be broadcast live in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and online beginning at 11:30.