'The smallest coffins are the heaviest': Israel grieves youngest hostages
Images were shared of the boys in their Batman costumes with Ariel's cape flying in the wind; of older brother Ariel hugging his baby brother Kfir when he was born; of Kfir giggling and gurgling as his father Yarden played with him.And then the image seared into the minds since Hamas's attack on 7 October: the boys clutching onto their mother Shiri Bibas, her face tormented in fear, as they were surrounded by gunmen and taken to Gaza.No one in Israel wanted this ending; where Kfir and Ariel returned, not to their innocent childhood, but with their tender years already over. And where their mother who protected them until the last moment has not even returned with them.In Israel, there is communal pain and grief.In a video statement, the Israeli Prime Minister said Ariel and Kfir Bibas and 84-year-old Oded Lifschitz, whose body was also returned yesterday, were "brutally murdered by Hamas savages."Holding up a picture of the boys, Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Today is a tragic day. It's a day of boundless sorrow, of indescribable pain."Their bodies return home to a nation in mourning. A nation that will never forget and never forgive the evil that cut down these beautiful souls…The Bibas children in particular became the symbol of who we are, and who we're fighting against." Netanyahu said: "Who kidnaps a little boy and a baby and murders them? Monsters. That's who."Israel's President Isaac Herzog said in a statement: "Agony. Pain. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters." He asked for forgiveness on behalf of the country for not protecting them and bringing them home.Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months when they were kidnapped during the 7 October attacks.About 1,200 people - mostly civilians - were killed in the attacks and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,297 Palestinians - mainly civilians - according to the Hamas-run health ministry. This week, in Israel and abroad, people across social media posted images of broken orange hearts to represent the boys with the striking ginger hair.On Thursday, as the vehicles with the bodies of the Bibas children and Oded Lifschitz crossed into Israel, people lining the streets with Israeli flags shouted out "sorry".
In October 2023 just weeks after they were kidnapped, the aunt of the Bibas brothers spoke to the BBC. Ofri Bibas Levy described how Kfir had just started crawling and eating solid food."They are civilians and are not supposed to be there. The longer they are there the harder it's going to be to recover them and the less chance they're going to come out alive," she said.On Friday she wrote on Facebook: "I'm sorry Luli [Ariel], I'm sorry Firfir [Kfir]."You did not deserve any of this. We will miss you forever. We are not giving up on your mum Shiri."In a video statement she added: "Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were taken alive by a murderous terrorist organization, and it was Israel's responsibility and obligation to bring them back alive. "There is no forgiveness for abandoning them on October 7 and no forgiveness for abandoning them in captivity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we did not receive an apology from you in this painful moment. For Ariel and Kfir's sake, and for Yarden's sake, we are not seeking revenge right now. We are asking for Shiri."Yarden Bibas, who was only recently released as a hostage, must now bury his two young boys, with his wife Shiri still not returned by Hamas.In Israel they are quoting words that painfully resonate: "The smallest coffins are the heaviest."
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Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'The world should see my son's sadistic torture': Mother of Israeli hostage delivers searing message to Hamas apologists in first interview since shocking video was released
Since the horrifying footage of her emaciated son being forced to dig his own grave in the terror tunnels of Gaza went around the world, Galia David has barely left her home. She had already endured nearly two years of unimaginable torment after Evyatar was kidnapped from the Nova festival in southern Israel with his best friend, Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Both 24-year-olds spent their first weeks of captivity bound hand and foot with bags over their heads, blood dripping from their wounded limbs. The last sign of life had come in February, when Hamas cruelly filmed them watching other hostages released, and then returned them to the tunnels. But Friday's video was of a different order of depravity. 'He looked like a skeleton,' dance instructor Galia tells the Daily Mail of that haunting image. 'It is sadistic torture.' Today she bravely speaks out for the first time, supported by Guy's parents, whose son is believed to be in the same state of starvation, to remind the international community 'who here is cruel'. Galia said: 'We very much hope this video has shaken people enough.' When such videos emerge from Hamas, the mainstream media wait for families to give the green light before airing them. Galia explained: 'That is why we ultimately decided to allow the release of the video – so that the world will truly understand how the hostages are suffering, who here is cruel, who is abusing not only our children but also the population in Gaza. 'I want everyone in the world to see this image, to know what Hamas terrorists are doing.' While Galia said she cannot 'waste energy on anger, blame, or accusations', Guy's father, Ilan Dalal, was more direct. Visibly still furious at Britain's decision to follow France in pushing for Palestinian statehood – a move Hamas celebrated as 'the fruits of October 7' and saw them harden their negotiation stance – he addressed Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron directly. 'Because of you there wasn't an agreement to bring our children home, and you caused the war in Gaza to continue,' he told the leaders. 'The suffering of the Gazans is on your hands. It's on you. The same goes for the suffering of the hostages.' It came as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch yesterday said Sir Keir 'has made a mistake' with the plan. Referencing the image of Evyatar, Ms Badenoch said: 'This is what Hamas is about. 'Now is not the time to reward them for their atrocities and for the massacre they committed on October 7 by giving them statehood recognition.' Of her son's desperate condition, Galia said: 'I don't think I have to tell you how urgent it is to get them out. 'Medical professionals told us that he can live for only another few days. Guy is in the exact same condition.' Visibly heartbroken, the mother of three said she feels a 'terrible frustration' as Evyatar and Guy have been held underground for so long they 'haven't a clue' what efforts their families are making to save them. Both have been in tunnels since June last year – aside from when they were taken above ground to torment them for the cruel video last February. 'I want anyone who is human to understand this,' Galia added. 'I want each person to stop and think for a moment: What if this were your son or brother? 'What would you do? Would you just sit silently? No. You would turn the world upside down.' Galia was at home in Kfar Saba when friends started messaging about a video of her son posted on Telegram by the terrorists on Friday last week. Talking to the Daily Mail in Guy's home, she stroked the hand of his mother, Meirav, as she revealed the two women made a pact at that moment. 'We spoke about it and decided we didn't intend to watch it,' she said. The mothers share a special bond and see each other as family as their sons are 'soul brothers' who have been inseparable since they met as toddlers. Both grew up going on camping trips together and love music – which is what saw them go to Nova when they were kidnapped on October 7, 2023. Horrifying footage from that day shows the young men pinned to the floor, their eyes bulging in terror. 'Meirav and I are just holding on to each other, trying to muster whatever strength we still have because Evyatar and Guy are our children,' Galia said. While the fact their sons are together has given some comfort, they also know that 'when one of them is tortured and abused, the other feels it as if it was his own flesh, exactly the same'. Despite their intentions, it has been impossible not to catch glimpses of the clip and – while the world has focused on Evyatar – both mothers believe you can spot Guy at one point. Former hostage Tal Shoham, who was held with them, told the women their sons are still in the same tunnel they were held in when he was freed in February. 'There's nowhere else to take him, nowhere to move him to, so they hid him there [while they filmed the footage],' Meirav said of her son. She also highlighted how the hand of the Hamas guard in the video is quite clearly well-nourished – in stark contrast to the hostages. 'The hand that reached out to give Evyatar food was a fat hand – a full hand,' she said. 'And I know that Evyatar no longer has hands. Only bones. 'This is one of the things I don't understand – why is the world not waking up because of it?' Just yesterday, the Daily Mail revealed UN statistics that show 86 per cent of aid for Gaza is stolen by Hamas and other armed militants. Describing what Guy and Evyatar are enduring as 'a Holocaust', she adds: 'I am sick of this hypocrisy of the world. People are simply bleeding hearts, and they don't grasp what's happening. And my son and Evyatar are rotting in the tunnels, with other hostages, which is insane.' For both mothers, they want just one thing. 'I want to hug my child,' said Galia. 'I want to reach that moment when Guy and Evyatar are brought back to us and we can tell them, 'You are safe, we are here for you.' 'From now on, this journey only goes in the direction of good.'
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Gaza aid truck drivers face increasing danger from desperate crowds and armed gangs
Truck drivers trying to deliver aid inside Gaza say their work has become increasingly dangerous in recent months as people have grown desperately hungry and violent gangs have filled a power vacuum left by the territory's Hamas rulers. Crowds of hungry people routinely rip aid off the backs of moving trucks, the local drivers said. Some trucks are hijacked by armed men working for gangs who sell the aid in Gaza's markets for exorbitant prices. Israeli troops often shoot into the chaos, they said. Drivers have been killed in the mayhem. Since March, when Israel ended a ceasefire in its war with Hamas and halted all imports, the situation has grown increasingly dire in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians. International experts are now warning of a 'worst-case scenario of famine' in Gaza. Under heavy international pressure, Israel last week announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. Though aid groups say it's still not enough, getting even that amount from the border crossings to the people who need it is difficult and extremely dangerous, the drivers said. Driving aid trucks can be deadly Thousands of people packed around the road Monday as two trucks entered southern Gaza, AP video showed. Young men overwhelmed the trucks, standing on the cabs' roofs, dangling from the sides and clambering over each other onto the truck beds to grab boxes even as the trucks slowly kept driving. 'Some of my drivers are scared to go transfer aid because they're concerned about how they'll untangle themselves from large crowds of people,' said Abu Khaled Selim, vice president of the Special Transport Association, a nonprofit group that works with private transportation companies across the Gaza Strip and advocates for truck drivers' rights. Selim said his nephew, Ashraf Selim, a father of eight, was killed July 29 by a stray bullet when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds climbing onto the aid truck he was driving. Shifa Hospital officials said they received his body with an apparent gunshot to the head. The Israeli military said it was unaware of the incident and that 'as a rule" it does not carry out deliberate attacks on aid trucks. Earlier in the war, aid deliveries were safer because, with more food getting into Gaza, the population was less desperate. Hamas-run police had been seen securing convoys and went after suspected looters and merchants who resold aid at exorbitant prices, Now, 'with the situation unsecured, everything is permissible,' said Selim, who appealed for protection so the aid trucks could reach warehouses. The U.N. does not accept protection from Israeli forces, saying it would violate its rules of neutrality, and said that given the urgent need for aid it would accept that hungry people were going to grab food off the back of the trucks as long as they weren't violent. Flooding Gaza with renewed aid would ease the desperation and make things safer for the drivers, said Juliette Touma, communications director at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. The danger for drivers is growing Ali al-Derbashi, 22, was an aid truck driver for more than a year and a half, but he quit after his last trip three weeks ago because of the increasing danger, he said. Some people taking aid off the trucks are now carrying cleavers, knives and axes, he said. He was once ambushed and forcibly redirected to an area designated by Israel as a conflict zone in its war against Hamas. There everything was stolen, including his truck's fuel and batteries, and his tires were shot out, he said. He was beaten and his phone was stolen. 'We put our lives in danger for this. We leave our families for two or three days every time. And we don't even have water or food ourselves,' he said. In addition to the danger, the drivers faced humiliation from Israeli forces, he said, who put them through 'prolonged searches, unclear instructions, and hours of waiting.' The war began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the latest figures by Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The threats come from everywhere Nahed Sheheibr, head of the Special Transport Association, said the danger for the drivers comes from everywhere. He accused Israel of detaining drivers and using them as human shields. The Israeli military did not comment on the accusation. In recent days, men linked to a violent Gaza clan fired at drivers, injuring one, and looted a convoy of 14 trucks, he said. They later looted a convoy of 10 trucks. Hossni al-Sharafi, who runs a trucking company and was an aid driver himself, said he is only allowed to use drivers who have no political affiliation and have been approved by Israel to transport aid from crossings. Al-Sharafi said he was detained by Israeli forces for more than 10 days last year while transporting aid from the southern Kerem Shalom crossing and interrogated about where the truck was headed and how the aid was being distributed. Israeli officials did not comment on the accusations. Some drivers spoke of being shot at repeatedly by armed gangs. Others said their trucks were routinely picked clean — even of the wooden pallets— by waves of desperate people, many of whom were fighting each other for the food, while Israeli troops were shooting. Hungry families who miss out on the aid throw stones at the trucks in anger. Anas Rabea said the moment he pulled out of the Zikkim crossing last week his aid truck was overwhelmed by a crowd. 'Our instructions are to stop, because we don't want to run anyone over,' he said. 'It's crazy. You have people climbing all over the cargo, over the windows. It's like you're blind, you can't see out.' After the crowd had stripped everything, he drove another few hundred meters and was stopped by an armed gang that threatened to shoot him. They searched the truck and took a bag of flour he had saved for himself, he said. 'Every time we go out, we get robbed," he said. "It's getting worse day by day.' ——- Associated Press writers Julia Frankel contributed to this report from Jerusalem and Sally Abou Aljoud from Beirut. Mariam Dagga contributed from Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Verifying video after deadly Russian strike on Ukraine transport hub
Update: Date: 12:20 BST Title: How many hostages are still in Gaza? Content: The UN Security Council is due to meet later today to discuss the fate of the remaining hostages taken from Israel still held in Gaza. The UN session was called after Palestinian armed groups put out videos showing two of the Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, looking severely emaciated. At BBC Verify, through media reports and video, we've been keeping across the status of the hostages taken into Gaza during the 7 October 2023 armed attacks on Israel by Hamas. Our understanding is that: Regarding hostages no longer in Gaza: Verification work by Alex Murray, Emma Pengelly, and Jamie Ryan Update: Date: 11:39 BST Title: Keeping track of small boats data Content: Anthony ReubenBBC Verify senior journalist The BBC Verify team keeps track of the data on people arriving in the UK on small boats so that we can show how the numbers are changing year-on-year. The Home Office publishes the figures both for the last seven days, external and a time series going back to 2018, external. Each day's figures come out the following day, so we'll get Monday's figures later on. So far this year, 25,436 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats which is almost 50% higher than at the same point last year. Update: Date: 10:58 BST Title: Cooper calls for more robust data on nationality of criminals Content: Robert CuffeBBC Verify head of statistics Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has told BBC Radio 4 Today there should be 'more transparency' about the nationality and immigration status of people accused of crimes. Her comments come after Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told the same programme yesterday that 'in London, 40% last year of all of the sexual crimes were committed by foreign nationals, despite the fact that they only make up 25% of the population'. Yesterday we described where the data comes from and why it can't tell us whether foreign nationals as a group are more likely to commit crimes than British nationals without taking into account the different ages of different populations. These warnings apply particularly for small groups such as Eritrean or Afghan nationals. They are much rarer in both the Metropolitan Police data (10 and 16 of the 1,600 sexual offences charged or cautioned last year) and population statistics. When you're dealing with small numbers, minor shifts or weaknesses in the data have an outsized effect: taking four offences from the Afghan total would be a 25% reduction. Update: Date: 10:13 BST Title: Verified video shows damage at Ukraine railway station following Russian drone attack Content: Paul Brown and Peter MwaiBBC Verify We have verified video showing severe damage at a railway station in the Ukrainian city of Lozova in the northern Kharkiv region following reports of a major Russian drone attack overnight. Local authorities say at least one person was killed and 10 injured. The videos show the station's roof, wall and windows have been damaged and a train at the platform has a buckled carriage. We have confirmed the footage was filmed at the city's main railway station by matching the unique facade of the building, benches and coloured paving blocks with imagery available on Google maps. Both Ukraine and Russia have been attacking each other's transport infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt industry and movement of supplies. We are also looking into reports that Tatsinskaya station in the Rostov region in Russia's south was hit overnight and will post here on the live page when we have verified material. Update: Date: 09:46 BST Title: Tuesday on BBC Verify Content: Rob CorpBBC Verify Live editor Hello from the team. We're getting on with verification work following an overnight Russian strike on the Ukrainian town of Lozova which officials say killed at least one person and injured 10 others. Images we've seen so far suggest the attack caused significant damage to the town's railway station - Lozova is a key transport hub for the north-east of Ukraine. Our fact-checkers have been listening to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper who has been doing broadcast interviews this morning as the UK's "one in, one out" migrant returns deal with France comes into force. And we'll also be looking for the latest verifiable information coming out of Gaza as it's reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to expand military operations in the Strip. If there's a story you think BBC Verify should investigate then do get in touch with us via this form.
