Hamas 'refusing to release baby hostage giving him to separate terror group'

28 November 2023 , 08:03

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Baby Kfir Bibas is the youngest hostage held by Hamas

Hamas is allegedly refusing to release its youngest hostage - a 10-month-old baby - and has instead put him in the firing line for when the fighting resumes, Israel's military claims.

Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Avihai Adrei said Kfir Bibas has been given to a separate Palestinian terror group, adding that "babies with the red hair" are "now being held by one of the factions" in the southern city of Khan Younis. Baby Kfir had just learned to walk when he, as well as his brother Ariel, four, and mum Shiri Silberman-Bibas, 32, were taken from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

The family, including dad Yarden, 34, hid in a safe room during the massacre but members of the militant group smashed down the door and dragged them out. Striking footage showed Shiri crying as she carried her sons as they were marched away by their captors.

Shiri Silberman-Bibas was abducted along with 10-month-old Kfir and three-year-old Ariel

It is not known what happened to Yarden - there are roughly 200 hostages still being held by Hamas. A family statement said: "We are experiencing moments of great uncertainty. The realisation that we will not get the hug we wished for leaves us speechless."

Military analyst Michael Horowitz told the MailOnline: "It appears they may be in the hands of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)." The PFLP is one of the largest groups that form the political coalition that claims to represent the West Bank and Gaza. It does not recognise Israel as a state, and has historically pushed for a Palestine-led one-state solution.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Shiri holding her sons as they were led away by Hamas fighters on October 7

Khan Younis is the Gaza Strip's second city. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said regardless of who is holding them, the responsibility for the hostages remained with Hamas until they were allowed to return to Israel. The city is set to be the IDF's next target once the ceasefire - extended by two days until Wednesday evening - is over. Israel urged anyone living there to leave over a week ago.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, previously said IDF troops would need to go into the city to take out Hamas fighters from its network of underground tunnels. The temporary truce - in place since Friday - was extended just hours before the initial agreement was due to end, according to Qatar, which brokered the deal.

Kfir had only just learned to walk when he was taken hostage (PA)

Israel has said it will add a day to the ceasefire in exchange for 10 hostages being freed, suggesting Hamas has agreed to release 20 more people before the new deadline. A fourth exchange saw 11 more captives released - consisting of three French citizens, two German citizens and six Argentinian citizens. They consist of women and children.

A spokesperson for the hostages' families last night told MailOnline: "Every single child that has been released tonight is being returned while their father is being left in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Very hard to swallow." Qatar's foreign ministry said in a post on X that 33 Palestinian civilians held in Israeli jails will be freed in exchange.

Ofri Bibas Levy, sister of Yarden Bibas, talks to the media (AP)

The exchange is thought to have hit bumpy ground before being brought back from the brink by mediators, which saw the first ever public visit of Qatari officials to Israel as Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet its side of the bargain and Israel threatened to resume its onslaught of Gaza.

Sixty-nine hostages held in Gaza have so far been released. 51 - all women and children - have been freed as part of the deal between Israel and Hamas. 17 Thai hostages and one Filipino were released as part of a separate deal between Hamas and the Egyptian government. A further 11 Israeli hostages, including three-year-old twins, were freed by Hamas on Monday.

150 Palestinian women and teenagers are to be released from Israeli jails under the deal - so far, 117 have been freed - and hundreds of lorries of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and fuel will be allowed into Gaza.

Ryan Merrifield