Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with a heavy heart, addressed the world on Friday, shedding light on the horrific actions of Hamas terrorists and demanding that the international community unite with Israel in condemnation of the murders of the Bibas brothers and other Israeli hostages.
“Today is a tragic day,” he lamented. “It’s a day of boundless sorrow, of indescribable pain. Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, his baby brother one-year-old Kfir, and 84-year-old Oded Lifshitz were brutally murdered by Hamas savages. Their bodies return home to a nation in mourning. A nation that will never forget and never forgive the evil that cut down these beautiful souls.”
“Since that black day on October 7th, when Hamas butchered and burned 1,200 of our families and friends, Israel waited with bated breath, hoping beyond hope that our hostages would survive the Hamas hell,” Netanyahu described. “Against all odds, we succeeded to bring many home. Some we rescued. Some we tragically couldn’t. The Bibas children in particular became the symbol of who we are, and who we’re fighting against.”
A forensic examination conducted after the return of the Bibas brothers on Thursday revealed the brutal nature of their deaths. The IDF released details, stating that the young boys were executed “in cold blood” after one month in captivity.
“Contrary to Hamasโs lies, Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered in cold blood by terrorists. The terrorists did not shoot the two boysโthey killed them with their bare hands,” IDF spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari explained. “Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.”
Hagari further highlighted the conversations he had with the boys’ father, former hostage Yarden Bibas, who was released by Hamas under the terms of the ceasefire agreement earlier this month: โYarden looked me in the eyes and asked that all the world know and be horrified by the manner in which they murdered his children.โ
Adding to the pain and sorrow of the nation, the bodies of the children and 84-year-old Oded were paraded through the streets of Gaza prior to their transfer to the IDF to the cheers of large crowds of Gazansโwith many young Gazan children present. Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, described the grotesque celebration as “satanic to the core.”
“The disgusting celebratory transference ceremony that their family and their nation had to witness just to receive back their remains shows you everything you need to know about who these people are,” he wrote. “They are a culture of death. They glorify death, they train their children in death, and they long for their own deaths if it means theyโre able to take other people with them. It is satanic to the core.”
“Yarden, a welder, and Shiri, a bookkeeper, had been debating moving up toward the Golan Heights because of their anxiety over the kibbutzโs proximity to Gaza,” Tsarfati noted. “As young parents, they wanted to ensure the safety of their two children, Kfir, 9 months, and Ariel, 4, whose red hair led his father to nickname him ‘the first Yemenite Ginger.’ When the attack [on October 7th,2023] began, all the terrified family huddled in the safe room. However, when it seemed like they were bound to be discovered, Yarden bravely left the family in order to draw the terroristsโ attention away from his wife and children. Yarden was captured, then, by a separate group, so were Shiri and the children. Meanwhile, in another part of the kibbutz, Shiriโs parents were slaughtered by the terrorists.”
“Still separated, the Bibas family were taken captive to Gaza. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were spotted in several media posts over the next couple days, but then they disappeared from sight,” he explained.
The Prime Minister grieved in his statement the terrifying ordeal that the Bibas boys and their mother, Shiri, experienced.
“These perfect children, again, were four years old and less than one year old when the Hamas savages snatched them from their mother’s arms,” Netanyahu underscored. “She fought like a lioness to protect her boys. Just imagine their horror. Imagine their confusion. Perfect little children who never hurt a soul. A baby, for the love of God. They languished in captivity until Hamas murdered them in cold blood.”
“Who kidnaps a little boy and a baby and murders them?” he questioned. “Monsters. That’s who. These Hamas monsters also cynically refused to bring back the boysโ mother, Shiri, and sent the body of a Gazan woman instead, in brazen violation of the agreement.”
Netanyahu then called on world leaders not to turn a blind eye to these atrocities.
“Today, the heavens shake,” the Prime Minister stressed. “The entire civilized world should condemn these horrific murders. The entire civilized world should join Israel in demanding the immediate release of all the hostages. All of Israel is united in grief.”
The Prime Minister further expressed his determination to eradicate the Palestinian terrorists who have barbarically spilled the blood of innocent Israelis simply because they are Jews.
“As the prime minister of Israel, I vow that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice,” he asserted.
“They do not deserve to walk this earth. Nothing will stop me. Nothing.”
“Ariel, Kfir, and Oded: I am so sorry we couldn’t save you from the monsters who did this. We honor your kind and loving souls, so tragically cut down by evil terror,” Netanyahu continued. “May your memories forever be a blessing and a reminder to all of us that we must fight this evil and eradicate it from the face of this earth.โ
As the news of the slaying of Israeli hostages reverberates around the world, Christians are joining the outcry, calling for prayer and condemning the barbarism.
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, wrote: “Pray for Israel, it has been a tough week. Between the lies from Hamas, their murder and barbaric coffin parade of hostages, and the suspected terrorist attack outside of Tel Aviv, Israel, and the Jewish people need our prayers and the comfort of God.”
In his latest episode of the Watchman Newscast, Erick Stakelbeck stated: “Hamas may be the most demonic entity on the planet right now. That’s who these people are marching in support ofโin Western countries, no less.”
Patricia Heaton, a Christian actress and vocal supporter of the Jewish State, took to social media to express her outrage toward the many groups who were silent, enabled, or had a direct hand in the killing of the Bibas children.
“I havenโt been able to think of anything adequate to say about the murder of Shiri, Ariel and Kefir Bibas and Oded Lifshitz,” she posted. “I feel so much anger towards so many people. First and foremost, the monstrous Islam terrorist group Hamas. The Palestinian civilians who took the beautiful Bibas family and murdered them. The UN who tried to make Israel the bad guy in this nightmare scenario. The countries of Qatar, Iran, Iraq, and all Muslim leaders who either funded the terrorists or stayed silent in the face of this evil. The American university professors and students who cheer for Hamas and for the destruction of Jews, Christians, and the west. The Hollywood celebrities who stayed silent about the murders and rapes. And the Hollywood celebrities that championed the actions of this murderous society. All the European countries, especially Ireland, that embraced the Palestinians, whose sole purpose in life is to kill Jews.”
Heaton also rebuked churches for refusing to come to the defense of Israel and stand with God’s chosen people following the massacre on October 7th.
“The Palestinians brought their children out to cheer the coffins being paraded before them,” Heaton stressed. “The horror continues. We can now plainly and clearly see why no country in the world is willing to take in these murderous people. Israel has tried for years to live peacefully beside them, but they thrive on hatred and death. Peace is not possible.”
“I donโt know what the solution is, but I do know that Israel will always be victorious,” she wrote, pointing to Isaiah 62:1-3, which reads, “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.”
