Murdered hostage Shiri Bibas, along with her murdered hostage children, Ariel and Kfir, are being laid to rest in the Tzohar cemetery on Wednesday.
At the request of the Bibas family, the funeral of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas is being held privately without media presence.
“Mi Amor, I remember the first time I called you Mi Amor,” Yarden said, mourning his wife.
“Ariel, in his innocence, wanted to be a superhero and save people trapped in a pit. I believe you fulfilled that dream. Ariel, you are a superhero,” he added.
“And above all, Shiri, with a natural maternal instinct, shielded her young children who were murdered in cold blood. The image of her embracing her two little ones in her final moments will forever be etched in our hearts. Now, Shiri reunites with her late parents, Margit and Yossi, the grandparents of the two most famous redheads in the world,” he further added.
“Shiri, people say they will always be here with me, but they are not you, so please stay close to me,” he continued.
“Ariel, I hope you’re not angry with me for failing to protect you properly and for not being there for you. I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute,” Yarden said, addressing his oldest son. “I hope you’re enjoying paradise. I’m sure you’re making all the angels laugh with your silly jokes and impressions. I hope there are plenty of butterflies for you to watch, just like you did during our picnics.
“To Kfir:I didn’t think our family could be more perfect, and then you came and made it even more perfect,” he said. “I remember your birth. I remember during the delivery when the midwife suddenly stopped everything—we were frightened and thought something was wrong—but it was just to tell us we had another redhead. Mom and I laughed and rejoiced. You brought more light and happiness to our little home. You came with your sweet, captivating laugh and smile, and I was instantly hooked! It was impossible not to nibble on you all the time.
“Kfir, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better, but I need you to know that I love you deeply and miss you terribly!”
At Yarden’s request, they played Avenged Sevenfold’s song, “Roman Skies,” after he spoke.
“Yarden, Shiri Ariel, and Kfir embody parental devotion—the protective mother, innocence, and purity on one hand, and on the other, the terrible failure, the horrific abandonment, and the embodiment of Hamas’s absolute evil,” a representative of Kibbutz Tze’elim said.
“On that damned Shabbat, Yarden went out to protect his family and was kidnapped to Gaza,” Idit Intertor said on behalf of Kibbutz Nir Oz. “After him, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were kidnapped, symbolizing the cruelty and inhumanity of terrorism.”
“I’ve been preparing myself for this moment for a whole year, but nothing could really prepare me well enough for the moment of parting with you,” Shiri’s sister, Dana Silberman Sitton, said in her eulogy.
“I admit I tormented her a bit and always waited for her reaction. “Why don’t you get back at me?” I would ask. And Shiri would say, “Wait until I’m older, then I’ll get you back.” A few years ago, I reminded her that I was still waiting.
“When our children came along, I told her about their antics and she said, ‘See? Now they’re getting you back for everything you did to me.'”
“You were both my beloved, special, and one-of-a-kind nephews! You’ll be in our hearts for eternity and forever present in our lives. And who took so long to bring you back to your homeland,” she continued. “I promise you, as I promised Mom and Dad, that the monsters beyond the fence will not succeed in their mission. They will not defeat us, they will not break us. On the contrary, their mission failed because we united, because we grew stronger, because we became invincible. They lost.”
“I promise you, Baz, and you, Lulu and Purpur, that no one will forget you. Lia, Alon, and Erez will grow up to be proud of you. You will be forever bound in our hearts and souls. I’m certain we’ll meet again,” she finished.
“I’ve been writing these words in my mind for over a year,” Yarden’s sister, Ofri Bibas, said in her eulogy. “The uncertainty, anxiety, and concern for you gave my thoughts no rest, but each time my mind began to formulate them, I forcefully pushed the words away—with the power of my love for you and Yarden, with the strength of hope that you would return.
“How did they take a whole year of shared experiences and memories from us? How can we imagine a future without you? How did they take you from us?
“Shiri, you were the perfect partner for Yarden. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better for him. Loving, sensitive, caring, nurturing, calming.
“The strength you instilled in him all these years, we now draw through him. Don’t worry about him. He is strong and amazing and still makes us laugh. And we will take care of him. I promise.
“Many people ask for your forgiveness, and Yarden’s, and ours. But the blame is not on them. This disaster should not have happened. You should not have been taken, and you should have returned alive.
“They could have saved you but preferred revenge. We lost. Our image of triumph will never happen. Our struggle against the enemies will be eternal, but we must always sanctify life, love of fellow humans, respect for the dead, and never leave anyone behind. Otherwise, we lose who we are.”
Tuesday’s Knesset plenary session opened with a minute of silence, and the Knesset building was illuminated with orange lights in memory of the murdered Bibas family.
The father of the family, Yarden Bibas, was also taken hostage on October 7 but released on February 1.
Time in captivity
After Shiri and her two sons were taken to Khan Yunis on October 7, 2023, they were detained by a terror group by the name of Kataib Mujahadin.
The Bibas children are the youngest among those taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. The Bibas family has become one of the most potent symbols of the hostage ordeal.
Shiri Bibas’s body was returned to Israel from Gaza on Friday night after Hamas sent an anonymous body in her place on Thursday along with the bodies of her sons.
Jesus Christ is King
