The relatives of an Israeli family killed while in Hamas captivity in Gaza have demanded the government stop making statements attributing blame for the killings of their loved ones, threatening to “take all legal measures at their disposal” if the Netanyahu administration refuses to comply. The request came three days after a declaration by Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari that Palestinian “terrorists” had “deliberately” killed two young members of the Bibas family “with their bare hands.”

Lawyers representing surviving members of the Bibas family have accused government ministries of seeking to exploit their plight for propaganda purposes, complaining “the family continues to receive, surprisingly, repeated inquiries from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Information System… with the aim of satisfying the public’s voyeuristic instinct.”

“Although it is surprising that it is necessary to request and emphasize this,” the lawyers continued, “we ask once again and in every language of request that all parties” be instructed “not to contact the family, nor to speak with any professional party entrusted with conducting the examinations regarding the circumstances of the murder and the condition of the deceased.”

…

Though Hamas announced that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023, Israeli authorities were reluctant to openly acknowledge their fate. During an exchange of captives the following month, Hamas offered to hand over the remains of the dead family members. On December 3, Yarden Bibas delivered a video messaging from captivity stating that his wife and children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike – like dozens of other Israeli hostages – and pleaded with his government to negotiate for their freedom so he could give them a proper burial. But Israel rejected the appeals, and resumed its decimation of the Gaza Strip.

The return of their Bibas family members’ bodies this February 18, and the outrage stoked by the Israeli government in calculated fashion, now threatens to derail the tenuous ceasefire with Hamas.

Since his release on Feb. 2, Yarden Bibas has neglected to confirm the stunning comments he made while in captivity. However, the open letter his family delivered to top Israeli officials conveyed strident disapproval of the government’s narrative, and contradicts a statement by Hagari, the IDF spokesman, who claimed, “‘Yarden [Bibas] looked me in the eyes and asked that all the world know and be horrified by the manner in which they murdered his children.”

Funerals for the deceased Bibas family members are scheduled to take place on Feb. 26. The family has reportedly banned Israeli government officials from attending the ceremony. A day before the funeral, the sister of Yarden Bibas, Ofri, published a Facebook post telling Israeli Prime Minister to “shut up,” and accused him of “abuse for its own sake of a family that has gone through 16 months of hell.”

Meanwhile, as a new independent analysis supports claims that Israel killed the Bibas family members in an airstrike, Tel Aviv has deployed one of its most notorious spin doctors to keep the blame focused on Hamas.