Kfir Bibas, an 11-month-old baby, and Ariel, his 4-year-old toddler brother, are the last remaining children held in captivity in Gaza, detained along with their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas. Hamas has been holding them since they were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
Yossi Schneider, cousin to the Bibas family, spoke to the Media Line’s Felice Friedson, urgently requesting a meeting with US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Schneider expressed deep concern about the health and potential long-term physical impact on the two young children as time passes. Schneider’s aunt and uncle, Margit and Yossi Silverman, were also abducted and subsequently murdered by Hamas.
Hamas released a heart-rending propaganda video showing Yarden Bibas in distress, being told that his wife and their two young sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike, a claim for which they offered no proof. Bibas is seen pleading for the return of his family’s bodies and blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their deaths. Israeli officials are still investigating the truth behind these claims. Hamas has used the footage as part of its psychological warfare, aiming to pressure and demoralize the Israeli public. The fate of Bibas, his wife, and his children remains uncertain, with family members holding onto hope until official confirmation is provided by Israeli investigations.
(R-L) Yossi Schneider and Yair Keshet, relatives of the Bibas family, speak with The Media Line, Dec. 4, 2023. (Felice Friedson/The Media Line)
Yossi Schneider: We want to meet [President] Biden. We want to meet [Egyptian] President El-Sisi. We want to meet the president of Qatar [Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani]. We want to look them in their eyes. I know that they are involved in the story. I know that they are trying their best to help us.
TML: Are they the last children that are still there?
Yossi Schneider: They are the two last children in Gaza. They are not even children; they are babies. They are the two last ones and every day, every minute, is very crucial.
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TML: Has anyone given you any information at all?
Yossi Schneider: We have zero information. We have zero information; just the declaration from Hamas that they’ve been killed. And as I told you before, I have a very strong orange light that is glowing and saying that they are alive and that we need them back here.
They are not some kind of a pawn in a game. They are not playing cards. They are babies. They shouldn’t negotiate babies about their lives.
It’s not that the parents negotiated how they educated their kids or what they should wear today. I want them to wear red, and you want them to wear blue. It’s their life!
And even if they’re still alive, Kfir is a baby. He needs vitamins. He needs something to grow. He can suffer from health damage, physical damage, that will last forever. He needs to be taken care of.
TML: Do you have any dual citizenships in your family?
Yossi Schneider: They have Argentinian citizenship, so yes.
TML: Have you pressured the Argentinian government?
Yossi Schneider: Yes, we’re not pressuring them, but we’re talking with them and collaborating with them, and they know exactly the situation. We have a member of the family that is going this Wednesday to Argentina to speak with the last president and the coming president and to tell her story and we’re doing the best that we can.
Unfortunately, our hands are tied up, and the only thing that we can do is to get interviews and try to speak with people and try to convince them to be with us.
TML: I really feel for you, and I just pray and hope for you that things go well.
Yossi Schneider: Thank you very much.