Shiri and her two children Kfir and Ariel were murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
By JNS staff and EJP
A private funeral ceremony was set to be held in Israel on Wednesday for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The Hostages, Returnees, and Missing Persons Directorate within the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in coordination with the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, is broadcasting selected parts of the funeral, respecting the wishes of the family.
“The Hostages Families Forum bows its head in sorrow and invites the public to honor their memory and accompany them on their final journey. We will stand with Israeli flags along the route as they make their way to their eternal rest. At the family’s request, the funeral will be limited to invited guests only. At 11:30, the eulogies from the funeral ceremony will be broadcast to the general public.company them on their final journey. We will stand with Israeli flags along the route as they make their way to their eternal rest. At the family’s request, the funeral will be limited to invited guests only. “
https://event.gpolive.co.il/live/bibas/
“The funeral ceremony itself will only be for members of the family and close friends,” said Shiri’s husband Yarden on Sunday. Yarden was also taken captive on Oct. 7, and was released on Feb. 1 as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
“Nonetheless, it is important for us to make it possible for whoever wishes to pay their respects and be a part of this moment to do so. Therefore, the route of the funeral procession will be published in order to enable anyone” to pay their respects on the day of the funeral, he said.
The bodies will be driven from Rishon Lezion to the Tekuma Region near the Gaza Strip, where Kibbutz Nir Oz is situated. The public has been urged to show up at various stations along the route in the early morning hours of Wednesday until Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, where the procession was expected to arrive at around 9:15 a.m. Thousands were expected to show up, according to Ma’ariv.
The Knesset was illuminated in orange on Tuesday night in remembrance of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
💔 Tonight, Israel’s parliament is illuminated in orange in honor of Shiri, Ariel, and baby Kfir who were viciously murdered by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/pPGsI5IPXG
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) February 25, 2025
On Wednesday morning, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana will commence the day’s plenum session with a moment of silence honoring the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz and all those who lost their lives on Oct. 7 and in the subsequent war.
To countless Israelis and others, the Bibas family personified the plight of the 251 hostages that Hamas abducted on Oct. 7, and the brutality of its terrorists. Hamas claimed the mother and her children were killed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip, but forensic evidence has refuted that claim.
“The heart of the nation is shattered by the abduction and brutal murder of Shiri and her children—Ariel and Kfir, may their memory be a blessing,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday after Hamas returned Shiri’s body.
Hamas was to have returned her remains on Thursday together with those of her children, but DNA testing found that the body returned was not hers. The terrorist group returned Shiri’s body on Saturday.
“The warm embrace, the love and the strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world strengthen us and accompany us during these moments of crisis. We sense the open hearts, the enormous embrace, your pain alongside our pain—which we don’t take for granted,” added Yaden Bibas in his statement.