Weekly rallies to mark 2nd birthday of hostage Kfir Bibas, day before deal due to begin
Youngest captive seized by Hamas-led terrorists is among the 33 Israelis slated for release during first stage of ceasefire agreement, along with his brother, mother and father

The families of hostages held in Gaza and their supporters were to set gather in Tel Aviv and elsewhere across Israel on Saturday for the weekly rallies urging the captives’ release, with this week’s demonstrations coinciding with the second birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest Israeli kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
This week’s rallies will also be held the day before the slated start of a multiphase hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with the first of three captives due to be freed on Sunday after the government formally approved the deal early Saturday morning.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organizer of the rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, issued a statement urging Israelis to attend the rally.
“An entire nation is waiting to see all the hostages come home. The current agreement must only end with the release of the all hostages, in a manner and date known in advance,” the statement from the group said.
Among the speakers scheduled to address the rally were former hostage Amit Soussana, who was returned from Gaza in November 2023 during a weeklong truce deal, and the relatives of several captives, including Ofri Bibas Levy, the aunt of Kfir Bibas.
Bibas Levy is the sister of Yarden Bibas, who was taken hostage separately from Kfir, who was abducted along with his brother Ariel and mother Shiri.

Ariel Bibas, 5, and his brother Kfir, who turned 2 earlier this month, are the only children left in Gaza, after a November 2023 deal that saw the release of more than 100 of the 251 people seized in the attack by Hamas terrorists the previous month, in which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, on the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
At the time, Hamas said the children had been killed along with their mother. Israel said it was investigating that “cruel” claim but has not confirmed it, and the IDF has since said it has no intelligence to confirm their status.
The four are among the 33 hostages to be released in the first stage of the hostage agreement, with the families of those captives notified Friday by the government’s hostages and missing persons coordination unit.
Those on the list, to be returned over a period of 42 days, are so-called “humanitarian” cases: women, children, elderly individuals and the infirm.
Notably, Israel has not been told how many of the 33 are alive, though it expects the majority are.
If the ceasefire holds, Israel and Hamas would begin negotiating toward the release of the 65 other hostages, younger men of whom some are living and some are dead.
There have been no signs of life from the brothers since the day of their abduction, when they and their mother, Shiri, became an early face of the violence. A video that emerged of Shiri carrying her children as she was taken away by the terrorists quickly gained attention due to her visible distress, the children’s bright red hair, and Kfir’s young age — being the youngest Israeli abducted by Hamas.
After announcing their death in November 2023, Hamas released a video showing Yarden, their father, who had been told his family was dead. In February 2024, the IDF found more footage from surveillance cameras in Khan Younis of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel’s abduction.

Their relatives, like those of other hostages, have advocated forcefully in public demonstrations and behind the scenes for efforts to return their loved ones to Israel. Eli Bibas, Yarden’s father, spoke at a Tel Aviv rally in support of a hostage deal on Tuesday night, saying: “The nightmare that became our reality in the past year must end.”
In a statement on Wednesday, as it became clear that a deal was being finalized, the family urged against speculation.
“We are aware of the reports noting that all members of our family are included in the first stage of the agreement and that Shiri and the children are among the first to be released,” the statement said. “We have gained enough experience and disappointments and therefore there is no end to the story until our loved ones cross the border.”
The statement added: “We are waiting for certainty about their release and their conditions and are asking that no one reach out to us in this sensitive time. We are asking not to lend a hand to spreading rumors. We address the prime minister and continue the demand to release them all, until the final hostage.”
Agencies contributed to this report.