TEL AVIV, Jan 18: The family of Kfir Bibas, the youngest Israeli hostage kidnapped on October 7, 2023, marked his second birthday on Saturday, a day before a ceasefire is expected to go into effect.
Kfir was less than nine months old when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his brother Ariel, now 5, and parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas. It is unknown if the family is still alive.
In December 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her two sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza.
Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped separately, was filmed being informed of their deaths.
While Israel dismissed the Hamas claim and termed the video of Yarden Bibas “psychological terror”, there have been no signs of the family since.
Kfir, with red hair and a toothless smile, has been in captivity for almost two thirds of his life and has become a symbol across Israel for the helplessness and anger over the hostages’ plight.
“In our worst nightmares, we never thought we would reach this day,” Yifat Zailer, a cousin of Shiri Bibas, said earlier this week.
Last year on his birthday, the family marked what they called “the saddest birthday in the world”.
This year on his birthday, the family commissioned copies of the pink elephant Kfir is clutching in his hands in the famous hostage photo that has been posted around the world, in hopes that when he comes home, they will be able to bring him his favourite toy.
The entire Bibas family is expected to be released in the first six weeks of the ceasefire, according to lists obtained by the Associated Press.
In the first stage, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, though it is unclear how many of the 33 hostages are still alive.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
