\
AS they laughed and smiled with their two little boys in matching Batman pyjamas, Yarden and Shiri Bibas were just like any other carefree and loving young parents.
But on October 7 last year, their lives were ripped apart when they and their sons were taken captive by Hamas terrorists — and are still missing today, believed to be held at gunpoint somewhere in Gaza.
7
7
7
7
The world watched in horror last year as terrorists rampaged across southern Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocents and taking more than 250 hostages.
For Yarden and Shiri’s family, the nightmare has never ended.
From her home in northern Israel, Yarden’s sister Ofri Bibas Levy told The Sun on Sunday: “We live every day with a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty.
“It’s the not knowing which is the worst. Are they alive? Are they dead? Are they being tortured? When was the last time they saw sunlight?”
Utterly terrified
The Bibases are the only entire family being held, and the two youngsters with their distinctive flame-red hair are the only child hostages who have not yet been released by the terror group.
Ariel is now five and Kfir — who was the youngest hostage taken that day — is just 21 months old.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the attack, mum-of-three Ofri said: “The last year has been a nightmare. I could never imagine something like that would happen to me and my family.”
Every day seems to bring new horrors in the Middle East, and Ofri, an occupational therapist, fears that developments such as the escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon may mean that her family and the other 97 hostages still held in Gaza are forgotten by a war-weary world.
The only weapon she has is to continue speaking out and campaigning for their release.
She will never forget the day — marked by a commemoration today in London — when accountant Yarden, 35, his bookkeeper wife Shiri and their boys were taken from their home in the Nir Oz kibbutz.
That is partly due to the heart-stopping text she received from her brother at 9:43am that day — their last communication — which read: “They’re coming in.”
But it is also because of the video which later emerged of Shiri looking utterly terrified and crying as she clung to her sons while Hamas gunmen led them from the family home.
Moments later Yarden was smashed over the head with a hammer and, with blood streaming down his face, was hauled to Gaza.
This too was filmed and posted online.
A hostage who was set free the following month as part of a limited deal confirmed he was alive but was being held separately from his wife and kids.
The terror group claimed around the same time that Shiri, 33, and the boys were dead, but Ofri says: “We still don’t know if that is right or not.
It’s the not knowing which is worst. Are they alive? Are they dead? Are they being tortured? When was the last time they saw sunlight?
Yarden’s sister Ofri Bibas Levy
“At first it was a shock to hear that but after a few days we thought, ‘OK, they say that, but we don’t know for sure’.
“And even if there is a one per cent chance of that not being true, we decided as a family that we’re going to keep fighting and demanding and shouting for them, as if what Hamas said has never happened.
“That keeps us able to still hope in some way — a little tiny fraction of hope is still available to us.”
Ofri vividly recalls the day the family were taken: “On October 7 I got a message from Yarden, at 6.30am, saying, ‘Here we go again’, letting us know they were in the safe room where they went when there was an attack.
“I quickly realised from another WhatsApp group I am in that this was something else, a real terrorist invasion, not just rockets.
“I texted Yarden — I didn’t call him because I didn’t want his phone to make a noise and alert the terrorists.
7
7
7
“I asked him, ‘Is the house locked? Are the windows locked? Do you have your gun?’ He said, ‘Yes, with a bullet ready to be shot’.
“For three days we didn’t know what had happened to him. I had a strong feeling he was murdered, then we saw a picture of him being taken.
“He was hurting and bleeding from his head but at least he was alive. When I saw the video of Shiri and the boys being taken I thought it wasn’t real.
“It took months to sink in and then it became really hard to watch it. Shiri was terrified, she’s white, and Ariel is shocked and confused.
“Even now, one year on, I think about them all the time. I really can’t feel happy about anything.
“One second I am laughing and happy with my kids, the next I think of Ariel and Kfir and I start crying. They’re missed every second of every day.”
Not doing enough
The photos that Ofri cherishes show just how happy the family were.
In one, Ariel cuddles his brother on the sofa. Another shows them with the family dog.
Every family event over the past year has been affected by their absence, including, most heartbreakingly, Kfir’s first birthday in January.
There was even a cloud over what should have been Ofri’s happiest day of the year, giving birth to her own son.
She said: “Nothing has been complete. Even when I gave birth, the day was lacking because not everyone was there.”
There has been huge controversy in Israel over the hostages, with families accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to secure their release.
Hamas is the worst enemy to negotiate with, so it’s never easy. But I believe my government can do more
Ofri Bibas
Ofri said: “Hamas is the worst enemy to negotiate with, so it’s never easy. But I believe my government can do more.
“The government should say they are willing to end the war and to take away the army — to retreat from Gaza completely.
“If Hamas demands a total retreat to return the hostages, up until the last body, then that’s what Israel should have done months ago.
“As for Hamas themselves, my message is: release those children immediately. No child should ever be a victim of war on either side.
“After that, if Hamas is really willing to make an agreement for Israel to pull back the troops and end the war, they should make some kind of effort to show they are serious.
“The Israeli government says Hamas doesn’t want it, Hamas says the Israeli government doesn’t want it, and I think it’s true on both sides.
“Neither side is showing real effort to end this. They don’t trust each other, they don’t believe each other, and my family is caught in the middle.”
THREAT IS GROWING
By Mark Almond, Professor of Modern History
ISRAEL faces an ongoing struggle against the terrorist enemies along its borders and in their sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
US forces went into Afghanistan to hunt down the organisers of the 9/11 attacks just as the Israeli army has pursued its enemies into Gaza and now into Lebanon to fight Hamas’s ally, Hezbollah.
Remember how the Americans and their allies got bogged down fighting guerrillas in Afghanistan for years?
Today Israel faces a similar danger.
With the threat of an expanding missile war with Iran – the paymaster and weapons- supplier to Hamas and Hezbollah – the Israelis are living with daily threats to their lives.
Now, with Iran joining in the attack with long-range strikes, Israel is at even greater risk, but there is a danger of war spreading across the Middle East, killing huge numbers of people and blocking energy exports to the world and causing an economic depression.
The Hamas massacre on Israeli soil a year ago sparked the spread of chaos and violence like a tsunami sweeping over distant shores.
A year on, this is no longer just a crisis for Israel and its neighbours in the Middle East.
