Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Yarden Bibas arrived at Sheba Medical Center on Saturday after 484 days in Hamas captivity, where medical staff are preparing for intensive psychological and physical care.
Footage from his release highlighted the emotional toll he endured, and medical teams are bracing for the possibility that his psychological recovery will be even more challenging than the physical rehabilitation. His family—parents Pnina and Eli and sister Ofri—have remained by his side, staying in his hospital room and requesting privacy.
live
Yarden Bibas reunites with his family at Sheba Medical Center
(Video: GPO)
In their first statement, the Bibas family expressed relief and heartbreak: "Yarden is home. A quarter of our heart has returned after 15 long months. Words cannot describe the relief of holding him again, hearing his voice. But the home is incomplete. Yarden is a father who left his shelter to protect his family, survived captivity with immense bravery and has now returned to a unbearable reality."
The family urged the public to respect Yarden’s need for privacy. "Please give him the space he needs for his body and soul to begin healing. Thank you to our incredible people, to our soldiers and to those who sacrificed their lives to make this day possible. We will take time to reunite with Yarden, but our fight continues. Shiri, Ariel and Kfir must come home, along with all the hostages. Please amplify their voices, now more than ever. For Yarden, for all of them—we will not stop until they are home."
live
Yarden Bibas meets with his father and sister for the first time since his release from captivity
(Video: IDF)
Medical staff, initially concerned by his condition upon release, were encouraged to see Yarden smiling after reuniting with his loved ones. Aboard the military helicopter transporting him to Sheba, he posed with his sister and father, holding a board on which he wrote: "I want to thank the people of Israel for their support. I heard from my family how you fought for me, and I deeply appreciate it. It’s not taken for granted." He also sent birthday wishes to his grandfather Yechiel, writing, "Happy 90th, Grandpa!"
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The Bibas family had prepared for the possibility that Yarden would be released before his wife Shiri and their young sons, Kfir and Ariel. In recent weeks, Israeli officials demanded clear answers from Hamas regarding their fate, as they were supposed to be among the first hostages released under the terms of the deal. So far, no new information has emerged, intensifying fears for their well-being.
Speaking to Ynet earlier this week, Ofri Bibas-Levi said the family was bracing for another wave of uncertainty. "We aren’t making preparations—at most, we are thinking practically about logistics. But there’s no home to return to. One phase ends, another begins, filled with unknowns. That’s terrifying," she said. "I know we are heading into another storm. Life will turn upside down again, and I have no way to prepare."
Jimmy Miller, Shiri's cousin, spoke this week in an interview with Ynet, expressing the family’s anguish over the lack of information.
"What will we tell Yarden if he is freed before his wife and children?" Miller asked. "What will we say to him? We have no words. These are difficult times—our worst nightmare."
On October 7, Hamas terrorists brutally abducted Yarden from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Video footage showed him being beaten and dragged into Gaza, his face covered in blood. A later Hamas propaganda video depicted him speaking about his wife and children, who were kidnapped separately, likely under duress with words dictated by his captors. He turned 35 in captivity.