Yarden Bibas, whose family became a symbol of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas kidnappings, has marked what would have been his murdered son’s third birthday with a wrenching Instagram post.
Bibas wrote on Sunday that his son, Kfir, never celebrated even his first birthday, “so how can I mark your third birthday for you?” He recalled how Kfir in his short life tasted solid food, started to crawl and celebrated his older brother Ariel’s fourth birthday.
Heartbreaking post from Yarden Bibas:
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) January 18, 2026
“My beloved kfir, You didn’t get to celebrate your first birthday… so how can I mark your third birthday?
Kfir, I’m sorry that I brought you into such a cruel world.
I hope you know how much I love you and how much I miss you.
I’m sure… pic.twitter.com/kl1ag9QGsT
Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, then about 9 months old, were seized from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault and taken hostage to Gaza. Yarden survived and was freed in a prisoner exchange on Feb. 1, 2025, after 484 days in Hamas captivity.
Israeli authorities later determined that Shiri and the boys had been murdered in captivity. After more than 500 days, the bodies of Ariel and Kfir were returned to Israel on Feb. 20, 2025, as part of a ceasefire deal. Following a forensic “mix-up” in which the body returned by Hamas was found not to be hers, Shiri’s remains were finally returned and identified two days later, on Feb. 22.
“Kfir, I am sorry that I brought you into such a cruel world,” wrote Yarden.
“I hope you know how much I love you and how much I miss you! I am sure that Mom, Ariel and Tony [the family dog] are celebrating for you in heaven. I am sure that Mom is making for you the best and happiest birthday she can, exactly as she knows how. I love you the most in the world, always in the world,” he said.
