From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Sister after release of footage of Bibas family: ‘We need to shock both the world and the decision-makers’
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Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother Yarden Bibas and his family are held hostage in Gaza, explains why the family gave permission for the IDF to release what it said was recently discovered footage showing mother Shiri and her two young children surrounded by gunmen in Gaza hours after they were abducted by terrorists from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
“They explained the reason to us and we approved. We need to shock both the world and the decision-makers. Put the family and the hostages back on the agenda. That’s why we agreed to it,” she tells the Kan public broadcaster.
The clip from surveillance cameras in Khan Younis — showing mom Shiri Bibas holding 4-year-old Ariel and an unseen Kfir, 9 months old at the time and likely in a baby carrier on her chest — is the first proof of life of the three members of the family since they were dragged into Gaza. The boys’ father, Yarden, was kidnapped separately and is also still held in Gaza.
The military has expressed serious fears over the wellbeing of Shiri Bibas and the two boys.
The Times of Israel Community.