With orange balloons and cries of ‘sorry,’ masses line route of Bibas funeral procession

Clutching orange balloons and national flags, thousands of people lined the streets of central and southern Israel on Wednesday to honor the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were all taken hostage and then murdered by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The masses of mourners stood along the route that ran for over 60 kilometers from the city of Rishon LeZion, passing by Yavne, Ashdod, and Ashkelon and eventually reaching the community of Tsoher in the south, where they were to be buried.

“We have begun the funeral procession accompanied by masses of Israelis,” the Bibas family said in a statement. “We see and hear you, and are moved and strengthened by you.”

Yarden Bibas, the husband or Shiri and father of the two boys “apologizes for not being able to come down and personally hug each and every one of you,” it said. Yarden, who was also taken hostage, was released earlier this month as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“We long for the day when we can once again unite in moments of joy rather than sorrow,” the statement said.

Ariel was four years old when the family was kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and Kfir was just nine months old. The kibbutz was one of the hardest hit on that day — terrorists broke into all but six homes in the community.

Many of those who came to stand by the side of the road and on bridges quietly sang the national anthem as the convoy went past.

Dozens of people lit candles at the roadside.

Many held up banners reading “Sorry” or shouted the apology to the convoy, asking for forgiveness that the family was not brought back to Israel alive.

The funeral service itself was to be held privately, with eulogies broadcast live.

Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to watch together on large screens.

In the vehicle carrying Shiri sat her sister Dana Silberman who saw three generations of her family murdered by terrorists. Her parents Yossi and Margit Silberman were killed at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack. Shiri and the children are to be buried at the cemetery where Yossi and Margit were laid to rest.

As she rode to the funeral of her sister-in-law and nephews, Ofri Bibas, Yarden’s sister, posted on Facebook: “Through the window, I see today a broken nation.”

“We will not rise or be rehabilitated until the last of the hostages is home,” she added.

“Thank you all,” she wrote.

The whole nation stands with the Bibas family in silent grief as Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir are laid to rest.

May their memory always be a blessing. pic.twitter.com/DDFvnQE1Bo

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) February 26, 2025

Many of those along the route wore orange, which became a symbol of the Bibas family’s plight due to the two boys’ bright hair color.

Mourners openly wept as the convoy passed, followed by a group of some 100 bikers carrying flags as an improvised escort.

Some displayed posters or signs featuring Batman, recalling past photos of the Bibas family in which they were dressed as Ariel’s favorite superhero.

Drivers along the route pulled over to allow the convoy to pass, many getting out and standing with heads bowed.

Troops and police officers stationed along the route saluted as the vehicles went past.

Small rallies were also held in many towns and locations not along the funeral route.

An AFP tally has established that 37 children and teens were killed during the devastating assault on October 7.

However, the Bibas boys were the youngest taken hostage and a haunting video clip of a distraught Shiri, clutching her sons to her chest as terrorists abducted them, made their fate iconic of the attack’s horror and the plight of all the hostages.

The three Bibas family members were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Yarden was taken separately to his wife and children.

The bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were returned as part of the month-old ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Yarden Bibas returned, alive, on February 1.

The bodies of Ariel and Kfir were returned on Thursday, along with that of hostage Oded Lifshitz and an unidentified Gazan woman who Hamas had said was Shiri Bibas. The terror group handed over Shiri’s body early on Friday after Israel protested.

Dani Elgarat, brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat, arrived at the Rishonim Junction to pay his respects as the procession came past, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

Elgrat described “a sense of loss as we saw the coffins pass here.”

“My heart is sad,” he said. The body of Itzik Elgarat is expected to be returned to Israel tomorrow, along with those of three other Israeli men.

Zohar Freidman told the Walla outlet that he skipped work to honor the family.

“I felt a sense of belonging to something bigger, for this family that actually united and unites us all,” he said. I believe that everyone in the Jewish people, no matter what sector they belong to, this family has touched all of our hearts.”

“I think if I stop to think about it for more than a split second, I feel so sickened, so sickened,” said Simi Polonasky, 38, who traveled from Miami to support hostage families.

“It’s not a regular situation: if you’re not feeling numb, you’re feeling so shattered and broken that it almost feels hard to continue,” she told AFP, starting to weep as she spoke.

“We’re here to give a hug and receive a hug, to be strengthened and to give as much strength as possible,” said Mottel Gestetner, 41, who traveled from Australia.

According to assessments by Israeli officials issued after her body had been identified, Shiri Bibas was “brutally” murdered by her captors in November 2023, alongside her sons, who were killed with “bare hands.” The assessments after a forensic investigation are contrary to Hamas’s claims that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The family’s father Yarden was abducted separately by Hamas terrorists after he left the safe room of their Nir Oz home in an attempt to distract the gunmen and save his family on October 7, 2023. He was freed from Gaza on February 1.