Hamas terrorists psychologically tortured released Israeli-Argentinian hostage Yarden Bibas by constantly taunting him about the uncertain fate of his wife and two children also taken hostage on Oct. 7, according to Israeli media reports.
Bibas, 35, was held captive by Hamas for 16 months before he was finally freed on Saturday alongside Ofer Calderon, 54, in a handover in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis as part of Israel’s cease-fire deal.
Bibas’ wife Shiri and his sons Kfir and Ariel were taken separately from the Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. At the time, Kfir was just 10 months old and Ariel was 4.
On the day of their abduction, a video of Shiri and her sons quickly made them the poster children for the hostages and victims. In the video, a terror-stricken Shiri is holding both boys in her arms as Hamas terrorists surround her on all sides.
Hamas has since claimed that the rest of the Bibas family had been killed in captivity, which Israel has not confirmed. Israel has demanded that Hamas provide an update on their condition, but have been met with silence.
After the father returned to Israel after being freed, he appeared on the KAN public broadcaster, the government-owned national broadcast, to detail his harrowing experiences in captivity. He described the psychological torture he was subjected to, including incessantly tormenting him about his family’s unknown condition.
In one instance, he said that his captors compelled him to film a video after they told him his family had been killed in an IDF airstrike.
Freed hostage Nili Margalit was there with Bibas the day he was forced to record the video, she previously revealed in December 2023.
In the video, Bibas was forced to accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of refusing to return his family’s bodies to Israel. The IDF quickly branded it as a “propaganda video” and it was not published in any of the nation’s outlets.
Bibas and Calderon were both kept in Khan Younis in the early days of their captivity. Bibas remained there and said he was frequently transferred around the city, including through homes and tunnels, the report said.
Beyond the psychological abuse, they were both physically beaten and kept in cages. They said watching efforts back home to push for the hostages’ release gave them hope.
