Cousin of Bibas family says they have received no information: ‘We don’t know if they’re alive’

A cousin of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped to Gaza along with her two young children and husband, says that the family hasn’t received any information on their physical condition.

“We don’t know if they are alive, or wounded. Yarden was taken prisoner when he was wounded,” Yossi Schneider tells the Kan public broadcaster.

Schneider says that he spends a lot of time talking to international media outlets in an attempt to raise awareness of his family’s plight, and that while some are sympathetic, others are critical of Israel.

“I am interviewed a lot, and along with the empathy I sometimes receive, I am asked about Israel’s actions and encounter criticism,” he says. “We are always to blame for everything. I tell them that October 7 is a day to remember, and that one day they will wake up to the same reality.”

The Bibas family, including baby Kfir who is now 10 months old, was transferred by Hamas to another Palestinian terror group in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday, dampening hopes of their release during the current truce.

Kfir was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his 4-year-old brother Ariel and parents Yarden, 34, and Shiri, 32, when terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, murdering at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting some 240.