October 7 · Personal story
Kfir Bibas
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
The Bibas family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · February 20, 2025
Kfir was murdered in captivity in November 2023. His remains were returned to Israel on February 20, 2025, and he was buried in Tzohar with his mother and brother on February 26.
01
A beloved baby in Nir Oz
Kfir joined Shiri and Yarden Bibas’s family in January 2023. He was nine months old on October 7 and the younger brother of Ariel. The Nir Oz community remembered a calm, smiling baby who reached happily toward people holding him; his red hair and laughter were familiar to those around him. His parents had made their home in the kibbutz and loved walking its paths, picnicking on Saturdays, and spending time with their children on the lawn and by the pool.
02
Taken from home
On October 7, 2023, Kfir was at the family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz with his mother, Shiri, and brother, Ariel. Yarden had been abducted separately. A later wave of attackers took Shiri and the two boys from their home. Kfir was nine months old. Images of the family’s abduction circulated publicly, while relatives and neighbors waited for news of their fate.
03
Killed in captivity
Kfir was held in Gaza with Shiri and Ariel. For weeks, the family’s fate remained uncertain. Israel’s National Insurance memorial record gives November 28, 2023, as Kfir’s date of death and states that he was killed in Gaza. The Nir Oz community later reported that the family learned Shiri and the boys had been murdered about a month after their abduction. Yarden’s release in February 2025 ended Yarden’s own captivity, but he returned without Shiri, Ariel or Kfir.
04
Returned and buried
Kfir’s remains were returned to Israel on February 20, 2025. Six days later, on February 26, he was buried at Tzohar with Shiri and Ariel. The National Insurance record identifies the return date; the Nir Oz community records the family’s burial. His father, Yarden, had been released alive on February 1, after 484 days in captivity.
05
Remembered by his community
Nir Oz remembers Kfir through the ordinary details of a baby’s short life: a smile, reaching for the person holding him, and laughter beside his family. His story also remains tied to Ariel and Shiri, who were taken with him and buried beside him. Yarden’s release in February 2025 ended his own long captivity, but he returned without his wife and sons.