Thousands of Israelis lined the streets to mourn the Bibases, who were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and had become a symbol of the country’s trauma.

The plight of the Bibas family has come to embody the profound sense of loss and grief still permeating Israel.

His family murdered in Gaza, freed hostage says he misses nibbling on baby Kfir, hopes there are butterflies in heaven for Ariel; asks slain wife: ‘Guard me so I don’t sink into darkness’