The IDF announced that it had killed Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, a senior Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and took part in the abduction of Yarden Bibas. According to the military and the Shin Bet security service, Najjar was among the terrorists who dragged Bibas into captivity. At the same time, his wife Shiri and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were seized by other Hamas-linked factions.
Najjar was eliminated in a targeted operation in Gaza, part of Israel’s ongoing campaign to dismantle Hamas’s command structure and bring justice to those who carried out the atrocities of October 7. The IDF stressed that the strike was not only retribution but also a measure to weaken the group’s ability to continue holding hostages and orchestrating attacks. His death closes the chapter on one of the most notorious figures directly responsible for the suffering of the Bibas family, whose tragedy has come to symbolize the cruelty of Hamas’s campaign.
The abduction of the Bibas family remains one of the most haunting stories from October 7. Yarden, Shiri, and their children, Ariel (4) and baby Kfir (just 9 months old), were kidnapped from Nir Oz and dragged into Gaza. While Yarden was separated and held by Hamas, Shiri and the children were held by the Mujahideen Brigades, an allied terror faction. Their captivity ended in horror: Israeli forensic examinations later confirmed that the children were strangled to death with bare hands—an act the IDF described as animalistic and depraved.
Adding to the cruelty, Hamas attempted to deceive Israel and the world by releasing the wrong bodies. In February 2025, the group handed over remains they falsely claimed were Shiri’s, but DNA testing revealed the corpse was that of an unrelated Palestinian woman. Only later were the genuine bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir recovered, bringing clarity to their fate but deepening the anguish over Hamas’s inhuman methods. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the stunt as “cruel and malicious,” and international observers described it as a grotesque example of Hamas’s disregard for human life.
The funerals for Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were among the most painful public moments since October 7. Argentina, recognizing the family’s dual citizenship, declared two days of mourning. Across the world, monuments and public buildings were lit in orange—the color of the Bibas boys’ hair—as a gesture of solidarity and remembrance. Thousands attended their burial in the Tsoher Regional Cemetery, where a special gravestone now stands as a permanent memorial to their lives cut short.
The Bibas case also underscores the broader hostage tragedy still unfolding. In the October 7 onslaught, roughly 251 people were taken hostage into Gaza. They ranged in age from infants like Kfir to elderly grandparents in their eighties. Throughout negotiated deals and military pressure, 148 hostages have been freed alive, and 56 bodies have been returned. The IDF assesses that about 75 hostages were murdered either during the initial attacks or in captivity.
Today, 50 hostages remain in Gaza, though intelligence suggests that 27 of them are already dead. Only around 20 are still believed to be alive, primarily young men, enduring captivity almost two years after they were dragged across the border. Their families continue to demand that the government secure their release, staging weekly protests that keep the plight of the captives at the forefront of Israeli society.
The murder of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and the grotesque deception of handing over the wrong body, epitomize the barbarity of Hamas’s methods. To strangle children with bare hands is not only a war crime—it is an act of pure cruelty that even shocked a world accustomed to Hamas’s brutality. The Bibas family’s story became a rallying cry in Israel and abroad, a reminder of what is at stake in the fight against terrorism.
By eliminating Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, Israel has struck down one of the men directly responsible for unleashing this nightmare. But the anguish of the Bibas family and the ongoing suffering of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza make clear that justice is far from complete.