Yarden Bibas, the sole surviving member of the Bibas family, gave an emotional speech at the funeral of his wife, Shiri, and his two sons, Ariel and Kfir, at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Wednesday
They were kidnapped and killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
In his speech, Yarden spoke of his deep love for Shiri, recalling their early moments together, their strong friendship and later life as husband and wife, and parents.
He expressed great sadness and regret for not being able to protect them, especially on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and Palestinian terrorists stormed their home and took them away.
“I remember the first time I called you ‘Mi amor,'” he said.
“It was at the very beginning of our relationship.
You asked me to only call you that if I was sure I loved you, so that I wouldn’t say it without thinking.
That day, I didn’t say it because I didn’t want you to think I was rushing to say ‘I love you.’ Shiri, I confess now: I already loved you when I said ‘Mi amor.'”
Yarden was released on February 1 as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were buried together in a single casket.
Shiri’s sister, Dana Silberman Sitton, and other family members also spoke at the ceremony.
Dana asked Shiri, Ariel, Kfir and her parents – who were also killed on October 7 – to send strength to remove evil from the world and leave only good.
“I promise, as I promised Mom and Dad, that the monsters on the other side of the fence will not win.
They will not defeat us or break us,” she said.
Thousands of Israelis attended the funeral procession, many wearing orange, the color that became symbolic of the Bibas family because of the children’s bright red hair.
The bodies were taken from Rishon Letzion to the Tekuma area, near the Gaza Strip, where Kibbutz Nir Oz is located.
The funeral was broadcast live on the internet and on TV.
On Tuesday night, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) was lit up in orange in honor of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.
On Wednesday morning, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana opened the day’s session with a minute of silence in memory of the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz and all those who died on October 7 and in the war that followed.
For many Israelis and people around the world, the Bibas family represented the suffering of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and the cruelty of the terrorists.
Hamas said Shiri and the boys had died in Israeli bombings in Gaza, but tests showed that was not true: They had been murdered in cold blood at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.
“The heart of the nation is broken by the kidnapping and brutal murder of Shiri and her children, Ariel and Kfir, may their memory be a blessing,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, after Hamas returned Shiri’s body.
The terrorist group was supposed to hand over her remains on Thursday, along with those of the children, but DNA tests showed that the body was not hers.
Shiri’s real body was handed over on Saturday.
“The warmth, love and strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world support us and accompany us in these difficult times,” Yarden said.
“We feel your open hearts, your huge embrace, your pain together with ours – and we do not find this common.” Here is a translation of Yarden’s speech, which he gave in Hebrew, shared by the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, adapted into simple Portuguese:
‘Light and happiness’
I remember the first time I called you ‘Mi amor’.
It was at the beginning of our relationship.
You told me to only call you that if I was sure of my love, not to say it without thinking.
That day, I didn’t say it, because I didn’t want you to think I was rushing to say ‘I love you’.
Shiri, I admit it now: I already loved you when I said ‘Mi amor’.
Shiri, I love you and I will love you forever!
Shiri, you are everything to me!
You are the best wife and mother there could be.
Shiri, you are my best friend.
Mishmish, who will help me make decisions now? How will I decide things without you”
Do you remember our last decision together”
In the safe room, I asked if we should “fight or surrender”.
You said to fight, so I fought.
Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.
If I had known what was going to happen, I wouldn’t have shot.
I think about everything we’ve been through together-so many beautiful memories.
I remember the birth of Ariel and Kfir.
I remember the days when we would sit at home or in a café, just the two of us, talking for hours about everything.
It was wonderful.
I miss that so much.
I miss you so much.
I wanted to tell you everything that is happening in the world and here in Israel.
Shiri, everyone knows us and loves us – you have no idea how crazy and surreal this all is.
Shiri, people say they will always be there for me, but they are not you.
So please, stay close to me and don’t leave!
Shiri, this is the closest I have been to you since October 7th, and I can’t kiss you or hug you, and it is destroying me!
Shiri, please take care of me?
Protect me from bad decisions.
Keep me from bad things and from myself.
Help me not to fall into darkness.
Mishmish, I love you!
Chuki, Ariel,
You made me a father.
You made us a family.
You taught me what really matters in life and what responsibility is.
The day you were born, I grew up all at once because of you.
You taught me so much about myself, and I want to thank you.
So, thank you, my dear.
Ariel, I hope you’re not mad at me for not protecting you properly and for not being there for you.
I hope you know that I thought about you every day, every minute.
I hope you’re enjoying heaven.
I’m sure you’re making the angels laugh with your silly jokes and imitations.
I hope there are lots of butterflies for you to see, like on our picnics.
Chuki, be careful when you come down from your cloud so you don’t step on Toni…
Teach all your imitations to Kfir and make everyone laugh up there.
Ariel, I love you “more than anything in the world, always in the world”, as you used to say to us.
Poopik, Kfir,
I thought our family couldn’t get any more perfect, then you came along and made everything even more perfect…
I remember your birth.
During the birth, the midwife suddenly stopped everything – we were scared, thinking something was wrong – but it was just to say that we had another little redhead.
Mommy and I laughed and celebrated.
You brought more light and happiness to our home.
You came with your sweet laugh and charming smile, and I fell in love right away!
It was impossible not to want to bite you all the time.
Kfir, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better, but I want you to know that I love you very much and I miss you so much!
I miss biting you and hearing you laugh.
I miss our morning games, when mommy asked me to take care of you before going to work.
I loved those moments, and now I miss them even more!
Kfir, I love you more than anything in the world, ever in the world!
I have so many things to tell you, but I’ll save them for when we’re alone.
Published in 02/27/2025 10h08
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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