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The father of the youngest Israeli child kidnapped by Hamas was released Saturday in the latest cease-fire deal swap — further deepening concerns about the fate of his family. 

Yarden Bibas was kidnapped during the terror group’s bloody Oct. 7 rampage through Israel that left 1,200 dead and saw another 251 people dragged to Gaza as hostages. 

He was released alongside French-Israeli national Ofer Calderon, 54, in Khan Younis to the Red Cross around 8:30 a.m. local time.


  Yarden Bibas is escorted to a stage by Hamas terrorists before his handoff to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis, Gaza on Feb. 1, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Yarden Bibas is escorted to a stage by Hamas terrorists before his handoff to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis, Gaza on Feb. 1, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Bibas was greeted at the military facility near Re’im by his father Eli and sister Ofri.

“We love you,” Eli is heard saying on video footage as the three hold each other in a tight embrace. 

“You are sweet. Keep your sense of humor. We love you,” Eli encouraged his son. 


  Yarden Bibas was released from Hamas captivity Saturday. AP Yarden Bibas was released from Hamas captivity Saturday. AP

American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel, 65, was freed two hours later at a separate location in the Gaza Strip.

Bibas, his wife and their young children were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

The couple’s kids, including Ariel, then 4, and their youngest child, Kfir, just 9-months-old, became symbols of Hamas cruelty after video widely circulated online showed the two red-headed youngsters in their fear-stricken mom Shiri’s embrace before being hauled off by the terror group.

Additional video surfaced showing Yarden, 35, surrounded by a mob of terrorists and bleeding profusely from his head as he was captured.

Hamas included the names of all four kidnapped Bibas family members on a list of 33 hostages set to be released under the first stage of the cease-fire deal, which brought 15 months of fighting in Gaza to a halt earlier this month.

While Yarden was released, concerns over the safety of his wife and children have grown.


  Demonstrators in Israel demanded the release of hostages earlier this month, with an image of Ariel Bibas playing on a screen behind them. AP Demonstrators in Israel demanded the release of hostages earlier this month, with an image of Ariel Bibas playing on a screen behind them. AP

Israel has said eight of the remaining hostages to be released during the 42-day truce are believed to be dead. The terms of the cease-fire deal required Hamas to have already released all living women and children.

Hamas previously released twisted footage showing a traumatized Yarden sobbing and shaking as his captors informed him that his wife and children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the early months of the war.   

The terror group, however, has provided no evidence of the family’s deaths, and Israel has yet to confirm they were killed. 

Israel demanded mediators who brokered the Gaza ceasefire share any intel about the conditions of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas following Yarden Bibas’ release. 


  Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas are among the hostages. Yifat Zailer / Facebook Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas are among the hostages. Yifat Zailer / Facebook

“The Bibas family … has been living in constant fear for their lives for a long time … We continue to demand information about their condition from the mediators,” said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostage coordinator, according to AFP. 

There were “grave concerns” over the fate of Shiri and her children, said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari.

After learning Yarden was set to be released Saturday, relatives of the Bibas family said their emotions were mixed and “are facing very complex days.”

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