Hospital receives toys donated to murdered kids of freed hostage Yarden Bibas
Toys will help young patients at Assuta Ashdon, where Bibas boys were born; families pray for return of hostages outside home of chief negotiator
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Released hostage Yarden Bibas has decided that toys given by the public to an airport tribute to his murdered children will be donated to the hospital where they were born.
Bibas recently visited the airport tribute, which was set up by the public after he, his wife, Shiri, and their two children, Kfir and Ariel, were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, with the hope that the toys would eventually be given to the family upon their return.
During the visit, Bibas requested that airport authorities donate the toys to Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod.
“Kfir and Ariel were born at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, a place where life begins,” he said, according to a Sunday statement.
“Now, as they are no longer with us, I want the toys that were placed in their memory to bring joy to the children who are cared for at the hospital where they were born,” Bibas added.
“Every child born [at the hospital] and every child that recovers here is part of our victory over those who tried to destroy us.”
סגירת מעגל כואבת: ירדן ביבס ומשפחתו מורידים את תמונותיהם של שירי, אריאל וכפיר ז״ל מנתב״ג
מתוך עמוד האינסטגרם של נתב״ג pic.twitter.com/SqRrzhJ2sc— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) March 18, 2025
The family, snatched from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, were 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. Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives between January and March as part of the deal.
The remains of Ariel, 4, and Kfir, nine months old, 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 that 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 had been murdered by their captors “in cold blood” and “with bare hands,” and that the captors carried out atrocities in an attempt to cover up their actions.
Assuta’s Director Dr. Erez Barenboim thanked Bibas for his donation, saying that the toys “will contribute a lot to the improvement of the mood of hospitalized children, and assist in their recovery.”
“This is an exciting example of the power of human resistance and the transformation of personal pain to an act of kindness and giving,” he said.
The Bibas family became a symbol of the tragedy of October 7, with the color orange coming to symbolize the effort to free them, inspired by the vivid orange hair of Ariel and Kfir.
Hostage families pray near home of chief negotiator Dermer
Bereaved father Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was murdered in Gaza, and the family of hostage Edan Alexander, including his grandparents and uncle, gathered Sunday to pray together and mark the new Jewish month of Nissan, in a park near the home of Israel’s chief hostage negotiator, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
The gathering of more than 100 people, including teenagers from a local high school, prayed with fervor for the return of the hostages.
“Please God, save us, relieve us!” Levi Ben Baruch, Alexander’s uncle, called as he led the prayers.
Attached to the chain link fence surrounding the park were signs of hostages still in Gaza, asking Dermer for his aid in saving Alon Ohel, Matan Zangauker, Omri Miran, Nimrod Cohen, Alexander and others.
The month of Nissan is a new beginning, said Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who joined the gathering.
“We remind Ron Dermer that the responsibility is in your hands, you’re the key person chosen by the prime minister, no more selection process of who gets freed first.”
Ben Baruch spoke about the biblical tabernacle, the spiritual center for the ancient Israelites, as recounted in the weekly Torah portion.
“In these moments, the tabernacle is the heart of the Jewish people,” he said.
“Put your heart in the right place like the ancient priests did and carry out the acts that need to be completed.”
“When we read on Seder night about letting no one go hungry, do you want the hostages to still be eating a moldy piece of pita? You can return the happiness of an entire nation,” he said, referring to the upcoming Passover holiday.
Their words were echoed by bereaved father Tzvi Zussman, whose son Ben was killed fighting in Gaza.
“I won’t see my son again,” Zussman said. “But these families, with the help of the government and Dermer, can change reality. Complete the deal, do it, and bring them all home now.”
The terms of the January ceasefire stipulated that negotiations would begin in early February for a second phase of the deal. The outline for the phase broadly envisions the release of all remaining 24 living hostages in exchange for a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to end the war until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled and has accordingly refused to enter talks on the second phase, instead pushing for an extension of the phase one temporary ceasefire. Hamas refused, and Israel renewed intensive military operations throughout Gaza on March 18.
Israel confirmed on Saturday night that it had received a new ceasefire hostage release proposal from mediating countries and said it had made a counteroffer. According to his office, Netanyahu held a series of consultations Friday night to discuss the proposal. On Saturday afternoon, Jerusalem responded with a counterproposal, the PMO said, adding that this was done “in full coordination with the US.”
The Israeli statement came after media reports on Saturday said Hamas had agreed to an Egyptian proposal to release five living hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire in Gaza. According to multiple media reports, this does not meet the demands of Israel, which is insisting on the return of 10 or 11 living hostages to resume the truce, based on a previous proposal by US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.