Family of Yarden Bibas fundraises to help him heal, memorialize Shiri and the boys
Released hostage, whose wife and young sons were murdered in captivity, has shown tremendous strength, but has a ‘long, complex and painful journey’ ahead, says his father
The family of released hostage Yarden Bibas has appealed to the public to help fund his rehabilitation and memorialize his wife Shiri and young sons Kfir and Ariel, who were abducted in the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, and murdered in captivity.
The fundraiser surpassed its $1,371,086 goal on Sunday evening, less than 24 hours since its launch, and reached more than $1.6 million by early Monday morning. The funds, collected via the Lehosheet Yad (Lend a Hand) foundation, will assist with “professional support, mental health assistance and financial resources to gradually regain a sense of normalcy,” Yarden’s father Eli wrote on the campaign’s English-language page.
“Yarden’s recovery is a long, complex, and painful journey. Beyond the unbearable grief, he must rebuild his life from nothing physically, emotionally, and financially,” wrote Eli Bibas. “He has no home, no stability – and each day brings new, unexpected challenges.”
In a video appeal published Thursday, Yarden’s sister Ofri Bibas Levy said, “We need your help to try and heal Yarden, and to fulfill his wish of eternalizing the memories of Shiri and the boys.”
“It’s important to us, in the way we choose to memorialize their memories, to remember them as who they were prior to October 7 — as sweet, happy children, as an amazing and happy family,” she said.
Speaking to the Ynet news site, she said the family would memorialize Shiri, Ariel and Kfir in a manner that “does good for others, especially for children, maybe in education… It’s right both with regard to Ariel and Kfir, and Shiri, who was an educator at heart. As a person and as a mother, that’s her nature.”
“Yarden isn’t asking a thing for himself. We’re asking for him,” she said. “The government helps financially, mainly with stipends, but from what we understand they’re mostly either one-time or valid for a year.”
“He hasn’t yet begun to deal with the experience of captivity; it will come at some point, but we can’t foresee how difficult the coping will be. It’s a long journey, there will be ups and downs,” she said. “We want to let Yarden choose to do what is right for himself and not make decisions based on financial constraints.”
“Anyone who had the privilege of spending five minutes with him gets how funny and sarcastic he is,” she said. “Humor is a device to handle the situation — also dark humor.”
“There have been nights where we’ve laughed so hard our stomachs hurt,” she said.
“We were afraid he’d come out broken, shattered, and he came out with strength he didn’t have beforehand,” said Bibas Levy. “It amazes us every day, and gives us the power to fight for him.”
She said Yarden listens to music, meets with friends, walks with his father in the morning and makes a point of not staying in his room during the day.
“He meets people it’s important for him to see and thank,” she said. “It’s important for him to meet people personally. Sometimes it’s too much, we strike a balance, and he also knows how to set boundaries.”
“Yarden is trying to think practically… where there will be greater proximity to friends and family, where there are more job options,” she said. “He doesn’t intend to stay home. Yarden is looking ahead.”
Yarden, Shiri and the boys were snatched from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz — among the 251 hostages that Hamas-led terrorists took when they stormed southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.
Yarden Bibas, 35, returned to Israel on February 1 after 484 days in captivity, two weeks after Israel reached a ceasefire and hostage deal with the terror group.
In the video fundraising appeal, Yarden’s father Eli said, “That day when we knew Yarden was about to be released, to get out of there — the moment I saw him walking upright on both legs, I could suddenly breathe again. That was really… a truly joyful moment.”
The remains of Ariel, 4, and Kfir, nine months, were returned to Israel after a Hamas propaganda ceremony on February 20, along with those of slain captive Oded Lifshitz and an unidentified Gazan woman the terror group identified as Shiri Bibas. The remains of Shiri, 32, were only returned a day later.
The IDF later said Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were murdered by their captors “in cold blood” and “with bare hands,” and that the captors carried out atrocities in an attempt to hide the evidence.
Masses of Israelis lined the road to honor Shiri and the boys’ funeral procession, many waving orange flags in a tribute to Ariel and Kfir’s bright red hair. Speaking at the funeral, Yarden said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
His sister Bibas Levy told Ynet that during the funeral and subsequent Shiva weeklong mourning period, “We said to him, ‘You can go be alone in your room for a bit,’ and he said, ‘Not a chance. People have come to show support and help, they’ve come to console me, I’ll sit out there and shake their hands.’ He said he wished he could hug each and every one.”
She also assailed ministers for shirking their responsibility to bring home the hostages.
“A day after the funeral, I spoke to a government minister about what we do going forward,” she said. “I said to him, ‘I rode in the procession and looked the nation of Israel in the eye. People cried not just over the Bibas family. People were unpacking 16 months of loss, of pain and of wondering, when will this nightmare end?’ And he said to me: ‘I’m not in the cabinet.'”
“You’re a government minister in an elected party,” Bibas Levy said. “End the war. Advocate for that. We all understand that’s the way to bring the hostages back.”
“That’s why I didn’t want them coming to the Shiva,” she added. “They speak like they did 16 months ago, dragging their feet as though there is time.”
Bibas Levy has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the hostage negotiations and accused him of violating her family’s memory for propaganda purposes.
Netanyahu has largely held off on negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which would see Hamas release the 24 hostages still thought to be alive. The premier’s right-wing flank has threatened to topple the government should it proceed to the second phase, which would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza.
The 42-day first phase, which expired on March 2, saw Hamas return 33 women, children, civilian men over 50, and those deemed “humanitarian cases,” in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, including over 270 serving life terms in connection with the murders of dozens of Israelis.
Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza — 58 abducted in the October 7 attack, and the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war. Among those slated for release in the second deal are Yarden Bibas’s best friend David Cunio and David’s younger brother Ariel.
The Times of Israel Community.