Two hostages released by gun-toting Hamas thugs including Yarden Bibas as fears grow for his sons, 2 & 5, and wife
Two hostages released by gun-toting Hamas thugs including Yarden Bibas as fears grow for his sons, 2 & 5, and wife
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TWO hostages have been released by gun-toting Hamas terrorists as fears grow for the young Bibas brothers. Their dad Yarden Bibas has finally been freed this morning after 484 days in captivity. He and Ofer Kalderon were handed over to the Red Cross in southern Gaza's Khan Younis. American-Israeli Keith Samuel Siegel is also set to be freed later this morning as part of the fragile ceasefire deal with Israel.
![[Man holding certificate flanked by armed men.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NINTCHDBPICT000968252848.png?strip=all&w=605)
But fears are growing for Yarden's sons Kfir, aged two, and Ariel, five, and his wife, Shiri. The boys were kidnapped alongside their parents from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas' October 7 bloodbath. Kfir was only 9 months old when he was barbarically kidnapped. The children and their mum were last seen alive in a video being marched through Gaza by gunmen. In November, Hamas claimed Shiri and her sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike — a statement Israel’s military said it could not verify at the time.
![[Still image from a video showing Ofer Kalderon's release by Hamas militants.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2023-attack-released-hamas-militants-968250081.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Their dad, Yarden, was reportedly separated from them and held in a different location. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said earlier this month that the IDF is “very concerned and worried” about the condition of the Bibas children and their mother. Baby Kfir turned two in captivity in January. Across Israel, posters of the red-haired toddler clutching his pink elephant have become a painful symbol of the hostage crisis.
![[Hamas militants guarding a hostage handover in Gaza.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/icrc-part-ceasefire-hostages-prisoners-968243692.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Kalderon, 54, was abducted from Nir Oz alongside his two children, Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12. His kids were released in November, but he remained in Hamas’ hands. Siegel, an American-Israeli, was taken hostage along with his wife, Aviva, from their home in Kfar Aza. Aviva was freed during a previous ceasefire. Seventeen of the 33 hostages due for release in the first stage of the ceasefire have now been released in exchange for 400 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
![[Photo of an Israeli family wearing Batman pajamas.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/10-month-old-israeli-baby-862551687.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
