Netanyahu and his allies have put the Bibas family at the center of their pro-war PR campaign – in full knowledge that the two kids and their mother may already have been killed in an Israeli strike.

Since Israel reluctantly signed the three-stage Gaza ceasefire deal in Doha, a slew of prominent Israeli experts have been consistently sounding the alarm that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already looking for a way to “evade the agreement”;

One of the most likely ticking bombs is the fate of the Bibas family – Shiri, Yarden, 4-year-old Ariel, and baby Kfir, who were abducted and taken to Gaza on Oct 7, 2023. The family has become the centerpiece of Israel’s PR campaign throughout the war. When the world chanted “all eyes on Rafah,” Israel responded with “all eyes on Ariel,” vowing constantly to “never rest” until they were home.

Yet, this heartening campaign rests on a tragic deception: the Bibas family – except for the father, Yarden – were killed in Gaza in November 2023 during an Israeli airstrike, Hamas has said.

The armed group offered to return their bodies to Israel in November, but Netanyahu rejected the offer. Israel’s government has apparently known their tragic fate for 14 months but has chosen to deliberately pretend they were still alive to capitalize on the narrative of Palestinian “monsters” holding a baby hostage. And Israel might soon use their grim fate to blow up the ceasefire.