From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 7, 2025
Freed hostage Yarden Bibas to Netanyahu: ‘Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home’
Yarden Bibas, who was released from Gaza last week as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group, makes his first public statements since his release:
“On October 7th, 2023, I was kidnapped from Israel. On February 1st, 2025, I returned to a different country. I knew that the people of Israel unite in times of disaster, but I never knew to what extent,” he writes in a statement distributed by the Hostages Families Forum.
Thanking everyone who supported him and his family during his 485 days in captivity, he makes a special mention of Israeli troops: “To the IDF soldiers, in one sentence — you are heroes, each and every one of you. Thank you.”
Bibas was kidnapped separately from his wife Shiri and young sons Ariel and Kfir, when Hamas terrorists raided their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, after he left their safe room hoping to distract the gunmen and save his family.
In November 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri and the two boys had been killed in captivity. Israel has not confirmed the claim, but has expressed “grave concern” for their fate. Though the three are set for release under the current ceasefire, Hamas has so far refused Israeli demands to comment on their status.
“Sadly, my family hasn’t returned to me yet. They are still there. My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark. Thanks to you, I was brought back — help me bring the light back to my life,” he says.
He specifically addresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home.”
