Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and baby Kfir, who were kidnapped and murdered in Gaza, were buried together on Wednesday in a single casket. The funeral took place at Tsoher Cemetery near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, from where they were taken on October 7, 2023.
“They will remain together and close, just as Shiri always enveloped her children,” said Carmit Palty Katzir, speaking at the funeral. A haunting video of Shiri clutching her sons as they were dragged from their home became a symbol of the attack’s horror.
Thousands lined the 60-kilometer route from Rishon Lezion, where their bodies were prepared, to the cemetery, holding orange balloons in tribute to the boys’ bright hair. Though the funeral was private, it was broadcast live nationwide.
Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the children’s father, who was recently released from captivity, gave an emotional eulogy. “Shiri, this is the closest I’ve been to you since October 7th, and I can’t kiss or hug you, and it’s breaking me,” he said. He apologized for not being able to save them, despite fighting back.
Shiri’s sister, Dana Silberman-Sitton, mourned the loss of three generations, as their parents were also killed in the attack. “Please watch over us from above,” she said, vowing that those responsible “will not defeat us.”
Yarden’s sister, Ofri Bibas Levy, spoke of the stolen future they had imagined. “For sixteen months, I’ve spoken about you everywhere to keep you alive. How can it be that you are no longer here?”
The tragedy has left a nation in mourning, but the family’s love and strength remain unbroken.
