Ariel Bibas, the eldest child of the Bibas family who was brutally abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, is expected to celebrate his 5th birthday at the beginning of next month.
"Our Ariel is going to celebrate his 5th birthday in captivity," reads the Instagram page "Bring Bibas Back", which was set up as part of Israeli advocacy to the world. The Bibas family was kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, in the Gaza Envelope. The photo of the young mother protecting her two little red-haired children was published around the world as evidence of Hamas's war crimes.
"How we hoped not to reach this day when we have to mark it down instead of celebrating it. How we wish they were with us and that we could celebrate all together," the post on the Instagram page reads. At the end of the post they express a wish that the day will not come when Ariel will turn 5 in the captivity.
Last night, in the heroic operation of the forces of the 98th Division, the bodies of five hostages were rescued from Gaza. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated regarding that action: "We are committed to our sacred mission: to return all our loved ones home, both alive and dead."
* Channel 14 News contributed to this report