Posted on 02/22/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
Tel Aviv, Israel - Feb. 22, 2025 - Kibbutz Nir Oz on Friday evening announced the murder of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped from her home on the morning of the October 7 massacre, together with her children Ariel (4) and Kfir (9 months).
The announcement followed the positive identification of Shiri's body by the Abu Kabir forensic institute.
IDF soldiers receive Shiri Bibas' coffin (IDF Spokesperson)
The family responded: "Tonight our Shiri returned home. We received the news we feared: Our Shiri was murdered in captivity, and now she has returned home to her sons, her husband, her sister, and her entire family - to rest. Despite the fears for their fate, we continued to hope that we would merit to embrace them, and now we are pained and broken."
"For 16 months, we asked for certainty, and now we have no comfort in it, but we hope that we will be able to find closure. Shiri was an amazing mother to Ariel and Kfir, and a loving partner to Yarden; a dedicated sister and aunt, and an amazing friend. At this difficult time, we continue to demand and call for the immediate return of all the other hostages who remain in captivity. There is no goal more important than this. There will be no healing without them. The details for the week of mourning and the funeral will be published later. Please give the family the space to digest and mourn. Thank you to everyone for their support and love over these 16 months. If only Shiri could have seen it."
Forensics experts believe that Shiri was murdered by the terrorists who held her and her children captive, in the early weeks of the war. Kibbutz Nir Oz said that "Shiri, who was abducted when she was 32, was born and raised in Nir Oz. For years, she cared for the kibbutz's children with dedication, as part of the education system, and she was beloved by all who knew her. In the past two years, she worked as the kibbutz accountant, but above everything else, she was a dedicated mother, who was dedicated to parenting with infinite love. Shiri, Yarden, Kfir, and Ariel, loved their home in Nir Oz very much; they loved the porch and the grass, where they spent an infinite number of happy moments as a family, and from which they were all kidnapped on October 7."
"Shiri's parents, Yossi and Margit Silberman, were murdered on the morning of October 7. Today, after 16 unbearably hard months, the circle of pain has finally closed for the family, and in the coming days she will return, together with her two young sons, to eternal rest on Israel's land. Shiri is survived by her loving husband, sister, nephews, family, and friends who will always remember her smile, good-heartedness, and joy in living which she shared with everyone. May the memories of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir be blessed."