Hamas celebrated another “victory” on Saturday, graciously returning Yarden Bibas to Israel after 484 days of captivity – minus his wife and two redheaded toddlers, of course. Because nothing says “liberation movement” quite like separating a father from his 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons while your leaders sip coffee in their Qatari penthouses.
For 15 months, Hamas held the entire Bibas family hostage. Little Kfir, who had his second birthday party in a Hamas tunnel, earned the dubious distinction of being Hamas’s youngest hostage. His crime? Being born Jewish in a kibbutz. His brother Ariel’s offense? Having red hair and being unable to keep quiet while terrorists stormed his home. Meanwhile, Hamas previous leader Ismail Haniyeh’s net worth grew to $4 billion – apparently, hostage-taking is quite profitable.
The theatrical brilliance of Hamas knows no bounds. First, they forced other hostages to tell Yarden his family was dead, filming his anguish for propaganda. Then they kept him in a literal cage in their tunnels, according to other hostages’ testimonies. Then they sent him home to an empty house. One has to admire their commitment to psychological warfare while they lecture the world about human rights.
Hamas claims Shiri and the children died in an Israeli airstrike back in November. How convenient – blame Israel for the fate of hostages Hamas themselves kidnapped. It’s like a burglar complaining that the police response damaged the house they were robbing. But then again, this is the same group that demands humanitarian aid after kidnapping the agricultural workers who grew food for both sides.
While Hamas leaders enjoy five-star hotels in Qatar and Turkey, and send their children to elite Western universities, they kept Bibas in a cage, separated from his toddlers. Now they’ve released him to face an unbearable reality – returning to a home where his children’s toys remain untouched since October 7th, their beds still made, waiting for toddlers who may never return. All while Hamas celebrates its “resistance.”
Let’s be crystal clear: Hamas calls itself a “liberation movement” while keeping a 2-year-old in captivity for 484 days. They demand humanitarian aid while traumatizing children. They claim to fight for Palestinian families while destroying both Jewish and Palestinian families alike. And now they expect praise for partially reuniting the family they tore apart. If this is liberation, what exactly does oppression look like?
The next time someone tells you Hamas is fighting for Palestinian rights, remember the Bibas family. Remember how they orphaned Yarden by murdering his in-laws, kidnapped his entire family, and then, in their ultimate act of “resistance,” sent him home alone to wonder if his wife and babies are alive or dead. Remember how they turned a father’s reunion into another form of torture. Because apparently, that’s what justice looks like in Hamas’s twisted worldview – where keeping toddlers hostage is somehow a path to freedom.
But hey, at least Hamas’s leadership got another photo op with the Red Cross. That’s what really matters in their fight for “liberation,” right?
