All Israel — and Anyone Anywhere with a Shred of Humanity — Grieves and Recoils in Disgust at the Murderers, Their Collaborators and Supporters — as Mother Shiri and her Two Red-Haired Children, Little Ariel and Baby Kfir, are Confirmed Slain by Hamas.

The bodies of Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 1, are set to be returned to Israel on Thursday, confirming the nation’s worst fears after more than four months of desperate hope. The red-haired toddlers and their mother had become a symbol of Israel’s agony following their abduction by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the family’s murder on Wednesday. “The heart breaks with unbearable pain,” Netanyahu stated. “Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel were murdered by Hamas monsters. There are no words to describe the horror, the cruelty. This is a crime that cries out to Heaven.”

The Bibas family’s abduction was seared into Israeli consciousness after footage circulated showing Shiri clutching baby Kfir in her arms, Ariel holding tightly to her side, as gunmen dragged them from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. The children’s bright red hair became a haunting emblem of innocence lost.

On Wednesday evening, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum declared, “There are no more words. We are shattered. Shiri held her baby in her arms and shielded Ariel. They executed them in cold blood. Hamas is evil beyond comprehension.”

Family members, speaking outside their home in Nir Oz, struggled to contain their grief. “We prayed every day,” said Yossi Bibas, Shiri’s brother-in-law. “We thought, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, we’ll see them again. And now—my nephews, my sister-in-law—they are gone. They executed babies.”

Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, returned earlier in the deal.

President Isaac Herzog condemned the murders as “an act of barbarism that the human soul cannot endure.” He added, “Hamas kidnapped a mother and her babies and slaughtered them. This is who we are fighting.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed justice: “The murder of the Bibas children and their mother will be avenged. Hamas will pay for every drop of blood spilled.”

The Bibas family’s deaths have sent shockwaves across Israel. Vigils erupted in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with hundreds lighting candles and holding photos of the smiling red-haired boys.

“There is no greater evil,” said Ronit Peled, a mourner in Tel Aviv. “They took babies, babies, and executed them. The world is silent. Where is the outrage?”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid decried the international response: “If this had happened anywhere else—if a mother and her two red-haired babies were dragged from their home and executed—the world would be in uproar. But because it’s Jews, it’s ignored. Shame on them.”

Funeral preparations are underway, though details remain uncertain pending the return of the bodies. The community of Nir Oz, decimated on October 7th, is planning a collective day of mourning.

“We will carry Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel home,” said Nir Oz resident Orna Sivan. “But our hearts are broken forever.”