Grieving family accuses PM of using graphic details of their loved ones’ deaths for political gain

For the second time in a week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly detailed the gruesome murders of hostages Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas—despite repeated pleas from their grieving family to stop.

Furious, Ofri Bibas, the sister of freed hostage Yarden Bibas, took to social media on Tuesday, telling Netanyahu bluntly to “shut up.” She accused him of using her family’s suffering for political purposes and condemned media outlets and social media users for spreading unapproved details about the deaths of her sister-in-law and two young nephews.

“Publishing such information, against the family’s explicit requests, is abuse for its own sake,” Ofri Bibas wrote, just a day before the funeral of her murdered relatives.

Her anger came after Netanyahu once again described the brutal killings in a speech at the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on Tuesday, following a similar address at a military ceremony on Sunday, where he held up a photo of the victims. The Bibas family had already sent a cease and desist letter to Netanyahu’s office, demanding that he and other officials stop publicly discussing the specifics of the murders.

The family had also issued a public statement urging media outlets to “stop adding details to the fact that Shiri and the kids were murdered by their captors.”

A Family Torn Apart by Hamas Attack

The Bibas family’s nightmare began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, taking Yarden, Shiri, and their two children hostage. Shiri and the boys were later murdered while in captivity.

Hamas released their bodies last week as part of the first phase of a hostage deal, which also saw the return of 33 hostages, including Yarden, who was freed alive on 1 February.

The bodies of four-year-old Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir were identified by the Israeli military on Friday. IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed that their captors had murdered them “in cold blood” in November 2023, using their bare hands before committing further atrocities to cover up the crime. This directly contradicted Hamas’s claim that the Bibas family had died in an Israeli airstrike.

Hagari said Yarden had asked the IDF to ensure “the world knows and is horrified by the way his children were murdered.”

‘Stop Using Our Pain for Public Diplomacy’

Despite this, the Bibas family remains enraged over Netanyahu’s repeated public retellings of the murders. They insist they were never consulted about the level of detail shared in his speeches.

Responding to an Israeli journalist who accused the media of exploiting the tragedy for political purposes, Ofri Bibas made it clear: the only details the family approved were the ones directly stated by the IDF spokesman. “Nothing more,” she wrote.

She further criticised Israeli authorities for failing to complete an official report on the killings before disclosing details to the public. “Instead, we’re finding things out from the media, the public diplomacy apparatus, Twitter users, and yes—even the prime minister.”

“If I could say one thing to everyone on behalf of the Bibas family: Just shut up,” she wrote, expressing frustration at what she called a lack of sensitivity and coordination.

A Private Farewell Amid Public Outcry

The funeral for Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas is set to take place in a closed ceremony in Zohar, near Nir Oz, following a public procession. The family has invited the public to join the procession and will livestream the eulogies.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to delay negotiations for the second phase of the hostage deal, which could see Hamas release more captives. His right-wing coalition partners have threatened to topple his government if he agrees to a deal that requires Israel to pull out of Gaza.

As political tensions rise, the Bibas family’s grief remains raw—and their message to Netanyahu is clear: stop using their tragedy as a talking point.