In a heart-wrenching development, Israel is currently investigating claims made by Hamas regarding the fate of Kfir Babis, a 10-month-old baby who was abducted and taken into Gaza by the terrorist group.

Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has asserted, without providing concrete evidence, that young Kfir, along with his mother, Shiri Silberman-Babis, aged 30, and his four-year-old brother, Ariel, were killed in an Israeli airstrike just before the ceasefire was announced. Notably, Kfir’s father, Yarden, who was also taken hostage by the terrorists, was not mentioned in the statement.

The Israeli military has responded to these claims by Hamas, stating that they are diligently examining the allegations surrounding the fate of the baby, who was reportedly held hostage alongside his mother and brother by the terrorists.

The world was horrified on October 7th when distressing footage emerged, capturing the moment Hamas terrorists forcibly removed Shiri and her young family from their home in Nir Oz Kibbutz and transported them towards a waiting car. The video displayed a distraught mother clinging to Kfir and Ariel as they were abducted, with shocked neighbors crying out, “She has a baby.”

Since that day, there has been no contact with the family. Nevertheless, there had been hopes that they might be released by Hamas as part of a prisoner exchange during the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the terrorist group.

However, Hamas has now claimed, albeit without presenting any substantiating evidence, that Kfir, Shiri, and Ariel tragically lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza in the days leading up to the ceasefire announcement. With his distinctive red hair and innocent toothless smile, Kfir’s harrowing ordeal has come to symbolize, for many, the brutality of the October 7th attack by Hamas, which resulted in the loss of 1,200 Israeli lives, both inside their homes and as they attempted to escape a music festival.

Earlier today, Kfir’s family conveyed that the baby, who has spent more than a fifth of his young life in captivity, his brother, and parents were not included in the list of hostages set to be released later tonight. Yossi Schneider, Shiri’s cousin, expressed his frustration to Israel’s Morning News, accusing Hamas of treating Kfir and his family as pawns and passing them from one group to another, akin to an animal.

These developments come after an IDF spokesperson suggested that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir may have been handed over to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a jihadist group that seeks to destroy Israel and has historically avoided diplomatic engagement.

Yossi Schneider further questioned Hamas’ motivations behind the abduction of the 10-month-old baby and the four-year-old child, asking what value they could possibly hold as bargaining chips. He lamented, “What were the Hamas terrorists exactly thinking when they kidnapped them? What exactly were they afraid of? What did they think that Kfir could do to them? They are passing him from hand to hand like an animal. I don’t understand it.”

Eylon Keshet, Kfir’s father’s cousin, also voiced his anguish, stating, “There is no precedent for something like this, for a baby who was kidnapped when he was 9 months old. Is baby Kfir the enemy of Hamas?”

Kfir’s family, like other relatives of captives, have been enduring torment since October 7th. They have received no sign of life from him and are left to ponder how a helpless infant can endure such protracted captivity. This tragic story continues to unfold, and Israel is committed to investigating the claims made by Hamas regarding the fate of Kfir Babis and his family.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)a