Four somber black coffins bearing the remains of 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz, 33-year-old Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel Bibas and baby Kfir Bibas were brought to Israel Thursday morning in a sad homecoming.
אָבִֽינוּ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ נְקוֹם לְעֵינֵֽינוּ נִקְ֒מַת דַּם עֲבָדֶֽיךָ הַשָּׁפוּךְ ? pic.twitter.com/mcnBkM8yFo
— בז חדשות (@1717Bazz) February 20, 2025
The IDF checked the coffins they received from Hamas to make sure they were not booby-trapped. Hamas had also locked the coffins but not provided the keys to the locks.
“Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffins of four deceased abductees,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “The coffins were handed over to the IDF and Shin Bet forces, inside the Gaza Strip, from where they will be transferred to Israel to the Ministry of Health’s National Center for Forensic Medicine. After the identification process, an official announcement will be made to the families.
“The families of the abductees have been informed, and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time, the PMO statement added. “The public is asked to respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded. We will continue to update with reliable information as needed.”
Upon their transfer to Israeli security personnel, the bodies of the four victims were placed in coffins adorned with Israeli flags and were honored in a military ceremony that included the recitation of the Kaddish (Jewish prayer for the departed) and Psalms by an IDF rabbi.
‘Our Hearts Lie in Tatters’
President Isaac Herzog expressed the torment experienced by the entire nation in a post Thursday morning, on the X social media platform.
“Agony. Pain. There are no words. Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” Herzog wrote.
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.
“May their memory be a blessing.”
The Victims
Oded Lifshitz was a founding member of Kibbutz Nir Oz together with his wife Yocheved, who was freed in the first hostage release deal in November 2023.
Shiri Bibas and her children – the youngest captives of all — were likewise kidnapped from their home, along with her husband Yarden, who had left the safe room in a futile attempt to protect his family.
The photo of a terrified Shiri clutching her two babies to her became the symbol of the horror perpetrated by Hamas-led terrorists against the Jewish nation on October 7, 2023.
Yarden Bibas was freed from captivity on February 1.
Hamas Depravity
In the “transfer ceremony” that has become a symbol of Hamas depravity, the terrorists seated Red Cross personnel at a table on a massive stage next to the four coffins, each bearing a photo of the slaughtered victims contained therein, to sign “release forms.”
I hope @POTUS sees what the Gazans are saying about him at their Dead Jewish Baby Theater. https://t.co/aY3j1dcNJZ
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) February 20, 2025
The grotesque event was broadcast live from Khan Younis by the Qatari owned Al Jazeera network — the same Qatari government that has been acting as one of the “mediators” in the talks to free those abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Lest anyone be operating under the delusion that Saudi Arabia is any less complicit, know this: The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya network interviewed one of the terrorists who kidnapped the Bibas family.
Terrorists released in exchange for prior hostages, allegedly deported “abroad” were seen in attendance at the ceremony.
A massive backdrop behind an armed terrorist and the ceremonial table proclaimed, “The War Criminal Netanyahu & His Nazi Army Killed Them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes,” claiming the victims were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas media claims they treated the Bibas family bodies with "respect"
They turned the baby's coffin into a propaganda poster.https://t.co/crVR40sIgq pic.twitter.com/W8EnnLH4G1
— Elder of Ziyon ?? (@elderofziyon) February 20, 2025
Hundreds of the so-called “innocent civilians” gathered around the stage – the same “civilians” of whom released hostage Mia Shrem said upon her return to Israel, “There is not one person in Gaza who is innocent. Everyone there is a terrorist, including the children.”
Deuteronomy (Devarim) 25:17: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt, how they surprised you on the road and cut off all the weak people at your rear, when you were parched and weary [from the journey], and they did not fear [retribution from] God [for hurting you].”
May their memories be a blessing, and may their blood be avenged.
