Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israel knew since November 2023 that the Bibas family had been killed, most likely in an Israeli airstrike. Despite this, Israeli officials continued to tell the public that the Bibas children were alive in Gaza, said an Israeli official. The case became one of the most emotional pillars of Israel’s narrative during the war.
The confirmation came from Nitzan Alon, the former head of Israel’s POWs and Missing Persons Headquarters. In a new interview, Alon said Israeli intelligence identified the kidnappers early and established that Hamas had not taken the family.
“We knew who kidnapped them,” Alon said. “We informed Hamas who the kidnappers were, so they could locate them and recover the bodies.” His statements indicate that Israel had accurate information about the family’s fate months before disclosing any details.
While intelligence units placed the Bibas family in the “Most Probably Dead” (MPD) category shortly after October 7, Israeli officials continued to use their case to portray Hamas as holding infants captive. The Bibas children became a core symbol in Israel’s rhetoric and media coverage.
Alon’s remarks contradict that portrayal and show that authorities maintained a misleading narrative even after receiving strong evidence that the family had died.
According to Alon, Hamas struggled to find the Bibas family because they were never in its custody. Israeli intelligence passed the kidnappers’ identities to Hamas to help locate the bodies.
He tied Hamas’s difficulties to internal chaos following October 7, noting that negotiators understood the disorganization during early hostage-related talks.
Images of the red-haired Bibas children were used widely in Israeli public discourse. Officials referenced the case in speeches, interviews, and diplomatic efforts. Alon’s disclosures now raise questions about how the government used the family’s story even after it knew the truth.
Alon described how Israel established new classifications for missing persons after October 7, including the MPD category used for cases with strong evidence of death. The Bibas family fell into that category early, according to intelligence assessments.
He also said intelligence units from the military and the Shin Bet were activated overnight on October 7, and their findings quickly pointed toward the family’s death.
