Former Israeli hostage witnessed Hamas terrorists telling Yarden Bibas that his wife and children were dead

Hamas terrorists brutally kidnapped Nili Margalit from her home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, a rural Israeli community adjacent to the Gaza Strip border, on Oct. 7. Margalit was one of approximately 240 Israeli and foreign nationals who were forcefully brought into captivity in Gaza, where she spent almost 50 days as a hostage held by Hamas terrorists before being released.

Margalit recently revealed that she witnessed Hamas operatives telling Yarden Bibas (34) that his wife Shiri (32) and their children Ariel (4( and Kfir (9 months) had been killed.

She recalled that her Hamas captors initially wanted her and fellow hostage Yoram Metzger to tell Bibas about the alleged fate of his family. However, Margalit insisted that the terrorists tell Bibas themselves.

Gazan terrorists kidnapped the entire Bibas family, but the father Yarden was separated from his wife and children during captivity.

“I told Yoram, if they want to tell him such a terrible thing, let them tell him themselves,” Margalit said. “Let him look him in the eyes and tell him himself. He knows Hebrew,” she added.

Hamas claimed in late November that Bibas' wife Shiri and their two young sons had been killed in an Israeli aerial strike in the Gaza Strip. Bibas, who was in a very poor mental health condition, was ordered by Hamas to release a video in which he blamed the Israeli government for the alleged death of his wife and children.

However, Israeli authorities have so far not been able to verify the claims made by Hamas, slamming the Gazan terror organization’s “psychological terror.”

“The barbarism and cruelty of Hamas is on full display to the world,” the IDF spokesperson’s office stated in response to the Hamas claim.

“Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable," the IDF stated. "Hamas’ actions continue to endanger the hostages, which include nine children. Hamas must immediately release our hostages.”

It is currently unclear whether any members of the Bibas family are still alive in the Gaza Strip.

The terror organization Hamas has a history of spreading psychological terror by claiming that specific Israeli hostages were killed. However, these claims were later proven false when those same hostages were released alive.

Margalit also revealed that senior Hamas terrorists visited her and fellow hostages during their captivity in Gaza.

“They didn’t introduce themselves, and I didn’t know their names until I returned to Israel,” Margalit said.

Of the original 240 hostages abducted on Oct. 7, Hamas and its accomplices are believed to still hold some 130 Israeli and foreign nationals in the Gaza Strip. It is unclear how many of the remaining hostages are still alive.

Israel Defense Forces recently announced that Sahar Baruch, a 24-year-old Israeli hostage from the Be’eri community, was killed during a failed rescue attempt in Gaza in early December.

Later in December, the Israeli military announced the tragic news that Israeli soldiers had accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in a battle zone in Gaza. Israeli soldiers reportedly inaccurately identified the three civilian Israeli nationals – Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz – as terrorist threats.

The Israeli military quickly assumed responsibility for the tragic event.

“This is a sad and painful event for all of us, and the IDF bears responsibility for everything that happened,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari stated.