Israelis bid farewell to mother and two young sons killed in captivity in Gaza

Shiri Bibas and her two sons, nine-month-old Kfir and Ariel, four, died in captivity in the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ assault on October 7 2023.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have lined the road as the bodies of a mother and her two young sons who were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip were taken for burial.

The plight of the Bibas family has come to embody the profound sense of loss and grief still permeating Israel after the militant Hamas group’s attack on October 7 2023 that triggered the war.

Footage of a terrified Shiri Bibas clutching her two red-headed sons – nine-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel – as they were taken to Gaza by militants is seared into the country’s collective memory.

Israeli soldiers salute as the convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir — The funeral cortege of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, passed by near Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel (AP)

Their bodies were handed over earlier this month as part of a ceasefire deal that paused the Israel-Hamas war.

Israelis endured another moment of agony when testing showed that one of the bodies returned by Hamas was identified as that of someone else. Shiri’s body was returned the following night and positively identified.

Yarden Bibas was abducted separately and released alive in a different handover last month.

People react to the funeral — The hostages’ deaths sparked an outpouring of grief (AP)

The three will be buried next to Shiri’s parents, who were also killed in the attack.

People lined up on the side of the roads as far as the eye could see sobbed and embraced each other as the casket made their way along the 60-mile route from central Israel to the cemetery.

Hundreds of motorcycles, each with an Israeli flag and orange ribbons, rode solemnly behind the convoy. In the city of Tel Aviv, thousands gathered to watch a broadcast of the eulogies, many dressed in orange.

Mourners at the funeral — The mother and her two children were abducted by Hamas on October 7 2023, and their remains were returned from Gaza to Israel last week (AP)

The extended Bibas family has been active at protests, branding the colour orange as the symbol of their fight for the “ginger babies”.

They marked Kfir Bibas’ first birthday with a release of orange balloons and lobbied world leaders for support.

Family photos aired on TV and posted on social media created a national bond with the two boys and made them familiar faces.

Relatives of Bibas family show their appreciation to the crowd on the side of the road (AP)

On Wednesday, many people dressed up in Batman costumes and saluted as the caskets passed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the delayed release of Shiri’s remains a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

“We waited for certainty, but it brings no comfort – only profound grief,” Ofri Bibas Levy, the boys’ aunt, said when their remains were identified.

The funeral procession began in Rishon Lezion, Israel — The funeral procession passed through Rishon Lezion, Israel (AP)

Behind them hung a panel where their pictures hovered beneath a cartoon of a vampiric-looking Netanyahu.

Some 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza and 251 were taken hostage.

More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.