Ofri Bibas, sister of released Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas, condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him to “shut up” after he repeatedly described the gruesome murders of Yarden’s wife Shiri and their young sons Ariel and Kfir, despite the family’s explicit wishes to keep those details private.
She not only criticised Netanyahu but also Israeli news outlets, social media, and public diplomats for exploiting the family’s pain for political gain. She emphasised that there are more sensitive and respectful ways to conduct public diplomacy and that the continued airing of these details only exacerbates the trauma experienced by her family.
“It’s simply an abuse for its own sake of a family that has gone through 16 months of hell and still has the worst ahead. So if I could say one thing to everyone on behalf of the Bibbs family—just shut up,” she said in a post on her Facebook handle ahead of the funeral of her nephews and sister-in-law.
Netanyahu described the murder of the young boys in graphic detail during two recent public appearances. On Tuesday, he spoke at the America Israel Public Action Committee, and on Sunday, he held a picture of the victims during a military ceremony.
Following the Israeli prime minister’s Sunday speech, the Bibas family sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netanyahu’s and other government offices, demanding that they stop sharing details of the tragic murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, according to The Times of Israel.
The family also released a statement through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Saturday, appealing to media outlets to “stop adding details to the fact that Shiri and the kids were murdered by their captors.”
Also read: Hamas to return four bodies of Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of prisoners
Yarden Bibas, on Wednesday (Feb 26), apologised for not being able to protect his family during the Oct 7, 2023 attack by the Hamas militant group.
“Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all,” he said in his eulogy at the funeral of his wife, Shiri and sons at a cemetery near kibbutz Nir Oz, from where Palestinian militants seized the four during the attack.
Hamas to swap bodies of 4 slain Israeli hostages for prisoners
Hamas said that it would exchange the bodies of four Israeli hostages for the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, marking the completion of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The ceasefire has successfully brought a halt to the Israel-Hamas war triggered by the October 7, 2023, attack. As part of the agreement, 25 hostages have been released alive in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
“Mediators have informed Hamas that the (hostage-prisoner) exchange will take place on Thursday… Hamas and other resistance factions will hand over four bodies of Israeli captives, and in return, Israel will release more than 600 Palestinian detainees,” a Hamas official told news agency AFP.
Another senior Hamas official said the “exchange will happen simultaneously”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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