Israel Says It Killed a Hamas Militant Involved in Yarden Bibas Kidnapping
On Tuesday, the Israeli authorities said they had killed a Hamas fighter who they said had been involved in kidnapping of the father, Yarden Bibas. His wife and children were abducted separately and killed in captivity.
The Israeli military and the Shin Bet, the domestic security agency, said in a statement that on Aug. 10, they 'struck and eliminated' Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, whom they identified as a member of Hamas' military wing. According to the statement, Mr. Najjar 'infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the brutal October 7th massacre and took part in the abduction of Yarden Bibas.'
The announcement was accompanied by an image showing Mr. Bibas during his kidnapping, bleeding in what appears to be the back of a pickup truck, along with someone the Israeli authorities identified as Mr. Najjar.
The New York Times could not independently verify that the person in the picture was Mr. Najjar, nor that Mr. Najjar was a Hamas fighter. Hamas seldom comments on such announcements, and there does not appear to be any past mention of Mr. Najjar in Israeli or Arab news media.
Mr. Bibas and his family, on the other hand, are very well known.
Shiri Bibas was 32 when she was kidnapped with the couple's two boys — Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who was about 9 months old, the youngest of the hostages. Her parents were killed in the same kibbutz.
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