Heartbreak in Israel as nation mourns deceased hostages

UPDATE (Feb 21): Shock and outrage after release of hostage remains shows body of Shiri Bibas not released, 3 others murdered in captivity — READ STORY ON ALL ISRAEL NEWS

The nation of Israel is in mourning. The bodies of four kidnapped hostages from the October 7 massacre made their way from Gaza to Israel this morning.

Today’s exchange was widely regarded as the most heart-wrenching yet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflected the soul of the country, saying yestersday: “The heart of an entire nation is torn. My heart is torn. Yours too. And the heart of the whole world needs to break, because here, we see who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with: monsters. We grieve, we are in pain, but we are also determined to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

The International Red Cross brought the bodies from Hamas to the Israel Defence Forces who took them to Israel for forensic identification. It’s expected the four bodies include Shiri Bibas, 32, and her four-year-old son Ariel, and nine-month-old son Kfir, along with 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, from which they were all captured.

CBN Israel’s Nicole Jansezian observed: “It’s so different from all the other hostage releases that we’ve had so far. You know, every time in the ceasefire, we’ve had about five or six rounds now, and, and the first few were marked with abject euphoria. But, this time, Israeli media chose to respect the privacy of the hostages that we presume are coming back. So, the atmosphere is very was very different. It’s also raining today. So it just feels like, you know, it just goes with the general mood here.

Earlier, in a ceremony attended by thousands of men, women, and children, Hamas masked men brought out the caskets. Al Jazeera even interviewed some who claimed to be the kidnappers. Hamas contends that IDF bombs killed the four who were turned over on Thursday, but autopsies will be performed to reveal how they were killed.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog believes these next few days will be “heart-wrenching” for Israelis.

“These are days of a wake-up call—not just for our nation, but for the entire family of nations. In the face of this evil—led by the evil Iranian regime and its proxies, we must stand together, resolutely, firmly, and courageously,” Herzog declared.

Thousands of Israelis gathered Wednesday at Hostage Square and again on Thursday.

For many, the Bibas family has become the most well-known of the hostages. The video of a terrified mother clutching her babies has become the emblem of the cruelty of Hamas on October 7th and for more than 500 days afterward.

If they are confirmed as the victims, their deaths would represent three generations of the Bibas family who died on or after October 7.

Reaction in SA

Meanwhile, in South Africa, the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) says in a statement released today that it is shattered by the devastating confirmation that the youngest hostages taken on October 7 are no longer alive.

After Shiri Bibas and her two small children were torn from their home by Hamas terrorists, Shiri’s husband Yarden heroically left their safe room to distract the gunmen, hoping to save his beloved family. Instead, all four were taken captive, separated during their ordeal. While Yarden was freed on February 1, the fate of his wife and children remained an open wound until this tragic confirmation, says the statement.

“The Bibas family embodied the purest essence of love and innocence,” says Rolene Marks, spokesperson for the SAZF. “Shiri wasn’t just an accountant and mother; she was a nurturing presence for every child in her kibbutz community. Little Ariel, with his endearing passion for Batman and tractors, carried the wonder of childhood in his eyes. Baby Kfir, whose distinctive red hair and radiant smile captured hearts worldwide, will never speak his first words or take his first steps.”

The confirmation of their deaths arrives alongside equally heartbreaking news about Oded Lifshitz, 83. A grandfather and peace activist, Lifshitz had dedicated himself to transporting children from Gaza suffering from cancer to Israeli hospitals before Palestinian Islamic Jihad kept him captive. His wife Yocheved, seized separately that fateful day from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was released by Hamas after 16 days of captivity. Today, their families face the grim task of receiving his remains.

“Ariel and Kfir became powerful symbols of the unconscionable brutality unleashed on October 7,” Marks continues. “Their innocent faces served as a haunting reminder of the darkness that descended upon Israel that day, challenging the world’s moral conscience.”

The SAZF says it “stands in profound solidarity with our beloved Israel and the global Jewish community”.

In a statement released on Friday, the ACDP says it agrees with UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who said: “It is pure evil to take a mother and her young children and an elderly man hostage. It takes another layer of evil to be responsible for their deaths. And yet a further layer of evil to trade their bodies to release hundreds of prisoners, including terrorists serving life sentences for murder.”

The ACDP statement says: “We also condemn in the strongest terms the parading of the bodies of the Israeli hostages by Hamas in a cruel ceremony.  This act has made the depravity of Hamas clear for all the world to see. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk labelled this ceremony as “abhorrent” and flying in the face of international law: “Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”

“Yet President Ramaphosa and the South African government, while quick to condemn Israel and lodge a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, is silent regarding this appalling act. This is disgraceful and shows a complete lack of compassion for the hostages’ families, the South African Jewish community and the State of Israel.

“We repeat our calls for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages and the return of the bodies of those who have been murdered or died in Gaza.

“We also trust and pray that the cease-fire will hold and for an end to the Israel/Hamas war, saddened by the loss of so many lives in both Israel and Gaza. Any such lasting peace must guarantee the right of Israel to defend itself and its citizens and to ensure that the attack and massacre that occurred on 7 October never happens again. “Never again!” as is said every year when the Holocaust is remembered!

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Yarden Bibas (who was also only recently released by Hamas), the Jewish community and the State of Israel. May their memory be a blessing and their families, the Jewish community and the State of Israel be comforted and strengthened at this time.”

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