Yarden Bibas meets family members at IDF facility near Gaza

By Emanuel Fabian

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1 February 2025, 10:36 am

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Released hostage Yarden Bibas meets IDF troops in the Gaza Strip on February 1, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Released hostage Yarden Bibas, 35, is meeting members of his family at an IDF facility near the southern border community of Re’im after 484 days in Hamas captivity. Bibas’s wife Shiri, 34, and sons Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2, are still held hostage in Gaza, and Israel says it has “grave concerns” for their fate.

Bibas’s cousin Oriah tells Channel 12 after his release that he has lost weight and that they hopes to one day see him smile again.

“Now the time has come to continue [with the deal] until we see Shiri and the boys at home,” she says.

Ofer Calderon, who was released alongside Bibas, will meet his family at a hospital in central Israel.