'I turn to you, Mr. Trump': An open letter from aunt of youngest hostages

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Hamas still refusing to free Gaza hostages as Trump's release deadline inches closer

Middle East Forum chief editor Jim Hanson on President-elect Donald Trump's warning for Hamas to free hostages immediately and the New Jersey drone frenzy.?

Dear President-elect Donald Trump,

My name is Ofri Bibas Levy. While you may not know me personally, you have surely heard of my brother Yarden Bibas, his wife Shiri, and Ariel and Kfir, their two red-headed children who have captured hearts worldwide. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented you with a photo of young Ariel holding his drawing of Batman, with the words "I'm flying and saving people who are stuck in a hole"—just as he and so many others remain trapped today.

These children and their parents lived an ordinary family life—a busy routine of parents with two young children—until they were taken from us more than a year ago. There is still hope: intelligence confirms that more than HALF of the 100 hostages still in captivity are alive, but their time is rapidly running out. My family members are among those we can still save, but only if we act now.

The Bibas family, from left: Yarden, Ariel, Shiri, and Kfir (Ofri Bibas Levy)

On Oct. 7, 2023, they were violently torn from their daily lives. Yarden, their father, made the heartbreaking choice to separate from his family in a desperate attempt to protect them, but despite his efforts, his young sons Ariel and Kfir were kidnapped along with their mother, Shiri. The footage of their abduction—showing the terrified children clutched in their mother's arms—became a haunting symbol of Hamas's cruelty. Two months later, Hamas's brutality reached new depths when they released a psychological warfare video showing them tormenting Yarden in captivity, cruelly telling him his wife and children were dead—trying to break his spirit.

Recently, the world marked International Children's Rights Day, a commemoration first initiated by the Rev. Charles Leonard of the Universal Church in Chelsea, Mass., 168 years ago. On this significant day, the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child—a powerful convention that places children's well-being above all other considerations. This declaration binds all of us to protect children from torture, exploitation, abuse, and neglect.

Kfir Bibas, left, and Ofri Bibas Levy, right, smile together beneath a tree.

Where is this commitment to these young children? Our shy, cheerful little Ariel was forced to mark his fifth birthday in Hamas tunnels, under the watchful eyes of murderous terrorists, far from the family and friends who love him. For over a year, we've been tormented by not knowing the conditions endured by him and his baby brother Kfir. Kidnapped when he was just nine months old, Kfir has already spent his first birthday in captivity and will soon mark his second birthday this January in terrorist hands—if we don't act quickly enough. Time is of the essence—while we know many hostages are still alive, their conditions deteriorate with each passing day. These innocent men, women, and children are fighting to survive under horrific conditions, making every moment of delay not just painful, but unforgivable.

Kfir Bibas, at nine months old. (Courtesy: Bring Them Home Now)

I turn to you, Mr. Trump, in desperation and plea: Help us where we have all failed. Use your unique, uncompromising, and creative approach to bring Kfir, Ariel, Shiri, and Yarden back to us. Returning all 100 hostages from Gaza is not just morally and ethically right—it's our human obligation. 

After so many agonizing months, there are finally talks of a deal. We must seize this opportunity to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas—the men, women, elderly, and children—and reunite them with their families. Time is of the essence to push this deal forward, and the return of the hostages is a prerequisite for stability in the Middle East. There will be no peace until we bring them home: the living—who constitute more than half of those taken—for rehabilitation, and the dead for proper burial.

We appreciate the efforts of the American administration and others over the past year, and we ask you, President-elect Trump, to lend us your voice and your hand so that Kfir and Ariel can celebrate their next birthday at home with us and their friends. It is their right and our duty. So many precious lives can still be saved.