Former hostage Yarden Bibas mourns family on anniversary of October 7 massacre

Former hostage Yarden Bibas expressed sorrow for his family on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre. His wife Shiri, and their sons Ariel and Kfir were killed by Hamas after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on that fateful day in 2023. In an Instagram post on the eve of the anniversary, Bibas apologized, saying, "I'm sorry that you're up there and I'm down here.

I love you more than anything, always." His sister Ofri shared a video of the family, captioning it, "The only ones I will ask forgiveness from until the day I die are Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir." This response came after Channel 14 journalist Yinon Magal accused Bibas and other victims' family members of needing to apologize to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for criticizing his actions during the massacre.

Magal made these comments while discussing the book Mr. Abandonment, which Ofri co-wrote. Bibi had not abandoned efforts to secure the return of his family, according to Magal, and Ofri should apologize to Netanyahu if she was making false accusations. On the same day, Paris inaugurated a park avenue named after the Bibas family in Parc Monceau.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire described the Bibas family as having been "cowardly murdered by terrorists during what was the deadliest pogrom in recent history." Ambassador Joshua Zarka of Israel also spoke at the ceremony, mourning the innocence of Ariel and Kfir, whose gentle faces testified to their lives being tragically cut short.