“The information we received is not good. The army is afraid about the state in which they will be returned, but nothing is proven yet,” Jimmy Miller, the cousin of Hamas hostage Shiri Bibas, told JNS on Tuesday.
“They fear the information we had received a year ago is real, but we won’t know the truth until we see it with our own eyes,” he said.
Shiri Bibas, 33, her husband Yarden, 35, and her two young sons, Ariel, 5 and Kfir, 2, are on the list of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of Israel and Hamas hostage-for-ceasefire agreement. Hamas, however, claimed in November 2023 that Shiri and the children had been killed. Yarden is presumed to be alive.
Eight of the 33 hostages intended for release during the first phase are dead, according to a list provided by Hamas.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer confirmed that the terrorist group has stated that 25 of the hostages are alive. The list was delivered to Israel overnight on Sunday.
So far, seven hostages have been freed, leaving 87 of the 251 individuals taken by Hamas during the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, are still in Gaza. This includes the remains of at least 34 hostages confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier killed in 2014. Another soldier’s remains were recovered earlier this month.
“Maybe they truly did release the living first, or maybe they just want to scare us. They want to make us think they are dead and for us to be surprised when somehow they survive,” Miller told JNS.
“I believe that there’s a chance they will come back alive, but I’m preparing myself for the worst. I’m ready for the news, good or bad. I’ve been preparing myself for a year. The most important thing is for them to come back and not disappear in the sand of Gaza,” he continued.
Conversely, Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik Elgarat is on the list of 33 slated for release, told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Tuesday that having learned his brother is no longer alive, it would be better to give the slot to a living hostage.
“I’m prepared to concede the place of my brother to bring a living person in his place. Bring them back from the inferno,” he told the committee.
Miller told JNS that the Bibas’s situation is more complicated than that of any other family.
“It’s two kids and their parents, an entire family that was kidnapped, nobody is in this situation,” he said. “All the members of the family are very sad and worried. We don’t know about Yarden, we’re worried that something really did happen to Shiri and the kids,” he added.
“When Yarden comes back we might have to tell him they’re not here yet. How will he feel about it? He may no longer want to live after that. It’s a very difficult situation,” he added.
Israelis are expected to gather on Wednesday to show support to the Bibas family.
“I don’t know who organized this. It’s not someone from the family. I spoke about it on television though. I called on people to wear orange hats, bracelets, T-shirts, whatever they have, and if they have the opportunity to make some orange lights in stadiums and buildings, to please do it,” he said.
“If there is still a chance for Shiri and the kids to come back this week then it would be on Saturday, not before. [Civilian] Arbel Yehud, [IDF soldier] Agam Berger and maybe [U.S.-Israeli] Keith Seigel are those who they say will be released on Thursday. You can’t know anything until the last moment with [Hamas.]”
