Repatriation of bibas bodies, symbols of the tragedy of October 7: the world has its eyes riveted on Israel

Shiri Bibas emblazes his two boys. Ariel is 4 years old. KFIR, 9 months. Both have red hair. The photo was spread this Wednesday on the cover of Maariv, one of the great daily newspapers of Israel. The Hebrew state knows their faces by heart. All three have been missing for over 500 days. Their fate has fed fears, doubts and speculation. The time of truth has come.

The world is going to get up this eyes on Thursday turned towards Israel. Hamas must restore four remains within the framework of the ceasefire. Wednesday evening, the hostage forum revealed that it will be the bodies of the two toddlers and their mother, as well as Oded Liffhitz, another resident of the martyred village of Nir Oz, 84 years old. The Israeli authorities confirm that they have received a list from Hamas, and warned the families concerned.

In a press release, the Islamist organization announces a ceremony in a cemetery of the Gaza Strip. The text evokes “four Zionist prisoners”, without specifying their identity. An image of horror, escaped from a bad dream, torments all spirits: two miniature coffins tossed in the dust of the Palestinian enclave.

Tel Aviv has never been able to confirm their death. Only the father, Yarden Bibas, recovered his freedom two weeks ago. “Until we receive a final confirmation, our fight will continue,” people cling to relatives on Tuesday in a statement. The same day, Emmanuel Macron expressed his emotion, publicly evoking the “faces of innocence and love”

“The faces of innocence”

For months, upset crowds have been dragging in orange, around the world, to recall the hair color of these children mowed by hatred. KFIR, the baby who became the youngest hostage in the world, should have celebrated his two years on January 18. His photo, pink plush in hand, has already marked history. In Tel Aviv Airport, visitors drop Down’s Day and toys at their feet.

The announcement of the repatriation of bodies constituted “a real shock”, says Jean-David Ichay, president of the association every October 7. It has just launched a national display campaign. “Unjustifiable”, “unspeakable”: these words will overlook 10,000 times the smile of Bibas in Paris, Lille, Roubaix, Toulouse and Bordeaux. A rally is planned in the early evening in the capital in order to “get out of the collective denial” and to “start mourning”. Others, no doubt, will form all over the world.