The Israelis pay the last respect for the hostage of mother and children killed in Gaza

In an exhibition of a deep public pain, thousands of Israeli, many with orange balloons and Israeli flags, aligned the roads of southern Israel for the funeral procession of three hostages who died in captivity in Gaza – Shiri Bibas and their two two lobbies children , Ariel and Kfir.

The Israeli television channels carried a live food of the scenes and, after a private burial, the public praise of the relatives, with crowds gathering to see on large screens in the Plaza de los Haranes of Tel Aviv.

“This trio settled in my heart, and I believe in all our hearts,” said a woman named Net to Channel 12. He said she had come from the north to present her final respects to the Bibas family in the procession.

“I left this morning at 04:30. I saw that I couldn’t fall asleep, so I headed south. I wanted to come here to be as close as possible to Gaza’s border communities, to be part of this farewell.”

Kfir, nine months old, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was the youngest of the 251 hostages taken in the attacks led by Hamas on October 7, 2023. His brother, Ariel, was only four years old.

The images of the two children became the most recognizable symbols of the fight to return to the hostages.

There was a deep anguish in Israel to see Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband, which Hamas released earlier this month without his immediate family.

On Wednesday, Yarden Bibas paid tribute to Shiri, who was 32 years old, as “the most surprising wife and mother,” saying that he would always love her.

“I want to tell you everything that is happening in the world and here in Israel,” he continued. “Shiri, they all know us and love us. You have no idea how surreal is this madness.”

Using an orange Kipá, or skull, shared moving memories of his children and talked about how he and his wife were surprised by giving birth to his second red -haired child.

The residence of the Israeli president was illuminated in orange, the color that has come to represent the family.

At the beginning of the procession, the Bibas family thanked the Israelis for their sample of support and expressed longing for days “when we can meet once again in moments of joy, not sadness.”

Wrapped in an orange flag to see the cars convoy passing to the cemetery, Shontal expressed his sympathy with the afflicted.

“I wanted to approach them, to offer my condolences to Yarden and the family. I hope he manages to recover, not only of the captivity he endured, but also to understand and understand this terrible tragedy,” he told Channel 12. “His tragedy is all ours.”

A disturbing video by Shiri Bibas was filmed during the Hamas assault in southern Israel more than 16 months ago.

It seems terrified while clinging to their children surrounded by armed men before they are removed from their home. Hours later, the images of the surveillance chamber showed them in Khan Younis.

In November 2023, Hamas said that an Israeli air strike in Gaza had killed Shiri and his children. However, that was never verified by the Israeli army, which only expressed “serious concern” for them.

As recently as last week, the Bibas family continued to have the hope that the mother and her children could be returned to Israel Vivos. They asked the public to “refrain from praising our loved ones” until a post -mortem examination of the government was completed.

Then, last Friday, after the first transfer of the remains of hostages killed by Hamas from his 2023 mortal attack, under the terms of Gaza’s fire cease agreement, the news appeared that devastated many Israeli.

Bibas’ children were dead, their identities confirmed by DNA tests. Israeli military spokesman said that pathological exams and intelligence showed that they had been killed by their captors “with their naked hands.”

In addition, the remains of Shiri Bibas were not found in the coffin labeled with their name that had been delivered to the International Red Cross Committee.

It was said that this contained the remains of a Palestinian woman from Gaza. Hamas suggested that there could be a mixture after Israeli bombing.

Two days later, the Bibas family announced that Shiri’s body had been returned to Israel and that she had also been murdered in captivity.

The disturbing confusion about the bodies, together with the gloomy transfer ceremony for dead hostages organized by Hamas, were among what Israel said they were truce violations, which led him to postpone the agreed release of about 600 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday past.

Hamas replied that this was a “serious violation” of Israel that threw the high fire process into a new crisis.

Hours before the funeral, Israeli and Hamas officials said that the crisis had been resolved by mediators, with the bodies of four other Israeli hostages that are now expected to be returned later on Wednesday or Thursday at the same time as the Palestinian prisoners They are released.

However, the consequences caused a new anxiety for relatives of some 60 remaining hostages who remain insecure if their loved ones, or their bodies, will once be returned from Gaza.

A promise of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avenge the deaths of the Bibas family only increased the concerns of his relatives.

The family has criticized the Israeli media and Netanyahu for ignoring their desires not to disseminate more details of the circumstances of the deaths of their loved ones.

On a Facebook post on the eve of the funeral, Offi Bibas Levy, Yarden Bibas’s sister, told the prime minister to “shut up” after he repeatedly described the murders. She said that the publication of the information was “direct abuse of a family that has gone through 16 months of hell and still has the worst.”

Bibas’ funeral came a day after Oded Lifshitz, who was also Nir Oz and was 83 years old when he was kidnapped. His body was also returned last week. Netanyahu has said that he was murdered in captivity by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Shiri Bibas and his children were buried in a single coffin next to the final place of their parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, who lived in Kibbutz himself and were killed there on October 7.

In total, some 1,200 people died on the deadliest day in Israel. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, it lit the deadliest war in Gaza, in which more than 48,000 people have been killed.

At the funeral, Effri Bibas Levy asked Israeli officials to sought forgiveness for their failure to protect Shiri, Ariel and Kfir that day to take responsibility.

“Forgiveness means accepting responsibility and committing to act differently, to learn from mistakes. Forgiveness does not make sense before failures are investigated, and all officials assume responsibility.

“Our disaster as a nation and as a family should not have happened, and it should never happen again.”