The release of Yarden Bibas from captivity by Hamas should have brought unbridled joy, but the return after 484 harrowing days is bittersweet due to an unbearable absence: he is unsure what has become of his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir. While rejoicing over the return of a son, brother, and friend, the gruesome reality is that the home to which Yarden was fighting to protect has yet to be rebuilt. In the words of the Bibas family told to The Jerusalem Post, “Yarden is home, but home is missing.”
Israel is a country that never leaves its own behind. Since October 7, the whole nation has held its breath as hostages returned, one by one, but the question has invariably been: Who is left in the dark? The release of hostages is not an end, but rather a step in an agonizing process of recovery. “We are overjoyed for every hostage who comes home, but we cannot ignore the pain of those still waiting,” former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin told Ha’aretz.
Hamas has claimed that Shiri and the children were killed in an Israeli airstrike. No proof has been provided, and Israel has not confirmed the claim. Yarden himself was reportedly shown a video during his captivity in which his captors informed him that his family was gone.
The Bibas family became an iconic image of October 7. A baby with bright red hair – Kfir, only nine months old – clutching his mother as she was dragged into Gaza, his four-year-old brother crying in terror. The images that emerged from that day encapsulated the brutality of Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians. “The kidnapping of children is a war crime,” Amnesty International noted in a statement following the attack.
Now, with Yarden’s return, the nightmare is not over. Instead, it has evolved into something even more agonizing – the limbo of uncertainty. Israel has been working relentlessly to verify the fate of the remaining hostages. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing many of the families of those still in Gaza, released a statement urging the government to act quickly, saying, “The return of Yarden without his family is an unbearable reality. We must do everything in our power to ensure that no one is left behind.”
Yarden Bibas did not ask to be a hero. He is a welder, a lover of music and comedy, and a father who, when terrorists broke into his home, did what any father would do – he fought. He was beaten, separated from his family, and thrown into a world of uncertainty.
During his captivity, Yarden was reportedly tormented with stories about his family’s supposed fate.
How does a man rebuild his life when he does not know if his loved ones are alive? How does he begin to heal when the home he left behind is still broken? “Survivor’s guilt is an unbearable burden, and Yarden is now carrying the heaviest weight of all,” said Dr. Orit Galili, a psychologist specializing in PTSD to Ynet.
The return of a hostage should be a victory. But when that return comes with unimaginable loss, it is a hollow victory. Yarden Bibas is not the only one experiencing this bittersweet reality – other hostages have returned to find their families murdered, their homes destroyed, their lives forever changed.
A symbol of resilience
The Bibas family has become a symbol of Israel’s ongoing pain and resilience, and we must ensure that their story is never forgotten. In honor of Ariel and Kfir, the two redheaded boys still missing in Gaza, we call on people around the world to wear orange as a sign of solidarity. Let orange ribbons, clothing, and social media posts remind the world that these innocent children and their mother are still captives whose fate remains unknown. We urge communities, organizations, and public figures to illuminate buildings in orange, raise awareness, and demand the immediate return of all hostages.
Until the last hostage is returned, the nation will not rest. And until that day comes, Yarden Bibas will remain the tragic hero of October 7 – a man who survived against all odds, but who is still waiting for his family to come home.
Only when that happens will the war truly be over.
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