Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 19th, 2024

Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (translated readout is attached below):

Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas were cruelly kidnapped on October 7th. 134 hostages are still being held by Hamas under harsh conditions without basic humanitarian standards. Recently, IDF soldiers located footage from a street camera in Khan Yunis, in which Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir can be identified on the day of the kidnapping, as they arrived in Khan Yunis.

From the footage and the intelligence we have gathered, it appears that Shiri was kidnapped along with Ariel, aged four, and Kfir, nine months old, at around ten in the morning, by terrorists using an ATV. From there, they were transferred to another pickup truck that took them to the eastern part of the Khan Yunis area, to a post of the terrorist organization known as "Kataeb Al-Mujahidin."

In the photo, Shiri and the children can be seen arriving, escorted by about seven terrorists, and are joined by eight terrorists already present at the post. In the footage retrieved by IDF forces in the field, you can see how several armed terrorists force Shiri to wrap herself in a large cloth, attempting to hide the hostages. Ariel's small and red-haired head peeks out from the fabric, but Kfir is not visible. We estimate that he is strapped to Shiri's body as we saw in the terrible kidnapping video.

Shiri and the children, wrapped in the large cloth, walk through the area surrounded by armed terrorists, and after some time, they are put into another vehicle and taken to a different location. Yarden Bibas, the family's father, was kidnapped by Hamas and separated from his family. He left their home in Nir Oz first upon hearing the alarm, thinking that this way he could protect and save them. Yarden is held by Hamas. In a video distributed by Hamas, Yarden’s difficult condition is shown, where he is very worried about his family.

Based on the information available to us, we are very concerned and worried about the condition and well-being of Shiri and the children, and we are making every effort to obtain more information about their fate. We will not rest or be silent until we bring them back home. IDF representatives presented the videos to the Bibas family and updated them with the information that arose.

I spoke with the family before I came here to speak, and I truly, truly request to respect the family's wishes and their privacy in the coming hours and to let them speak when they choose to. We continue to be in contact at all times with the families of the hostages and update them with any reliable information available to us.

It has been 136 days since the terrible day when they were kidnapped from their homes – children, women, men, and the elderly, some of them sick.
Hamas kidnapped the defenseless, infants and children who could not speak or defend themselves. Every hostage is a world in their own right.
The IDF and all security forces are constantly operating and will continue to make every effort to bring the hostages back home.