TWISTED TRADE
Fears baby Kfir is being held as ‘trophy’ after Hamas ‘trades him to other terrorists’ – as aunt begs for his release
Baby Kfir Abas was snatched by Hamas monsters along with his 4-year-old brother, Ariel
FEARS are growing that Israel's youngest hostage Kfir Bibas is being held captive as a "trophy" after Hamas allegedly traded him to other terrorists.
The 10-month-old baby boy's aunt, Ofri Bibas, has begged for his immediate release with the last day of the current ceasefire set to take place tomorrow.
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Baby Kfir was snatched by Hamas monsters from Kibbutz Nir Oz during their October 7 killing spree along with his brother Ariel, 4, mother Shiri, 32, and father, Yarden, 34.
Ofri begged for their safe return and told local media: "At the moment they are the youngest hostages still remaining in Hamas captivity.
“We don’t know where they’ve been held. From what we know, they are kept underground.
“We’re really worried about the 10-month-old baby with formula as the main diet.”
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The IDF stated that Kfir and his family are being held by another "faction" in the southern city of Khan Younis, which is expected to be a major target in Israel's next offensive.
The move has raised fears that the baby is being used to further leverage talks to extend the truce, which is currently set to hold until Wednesday.
A video of the terrified mother carrying the infants as Hamas drags them screaming from their home remains one of the most distinctive of the war.
Relatives of the family say they feel "great uncertainty" over their fates after none were released in recent exchange deals.
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“We call upon the Israeli government and Qatar and Egypt, everybody who is involved in these negotiations and this deal, to do whatever they can to include our family in this deal and to release them as soon as possible,” Ofri added.
The IDF said yesterday that Hamas "no longer has control" of baby Kfir after he was allegedly handed over to another Palestinian terror group inside Gaza in a sick trade.
Ofri Bibas says she has no information on who is holding her loved ones, but calls the failure to release them psychological warfare.
“It’s working really well because the last four days have been a big nightmare,” she said.
“I hope they don’t hold them as a trophy.”
IDF spokesman Avichai Adraee claimed the "babies with red hair" had been transferred to another Palestinian terror faction near Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city.
“Children and babies under the age of one who have not seen the light of day for more than fifty days are being held captive by Hamas, [who] treats some of them like loot and in some places has transferred them to other terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip,” Adraee added.
It is not currently known which Islamic terrorist group now holds the youngsters.
However, military analyst Michael Horowitz claimed: "It appears they may be in the hands of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)."
The PFLP is one of the largest Palestinian terror groups that claims to represent Gaza and the West Bank.
After the hostage deal expires, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has vowed to use "the same amount of power and effort" on a renewed military assault in Gaza.
He claimed that Hamas is using the temporary ceasefire to prepare for the IDF's coming offensive.
“We will fight in the entire strip,” he said.
Both Israel and Hamas are currently reporting that the other temporarily violated the ceasefire today.
The IDF claimed Hamas attacked their troops with gunfire and explosive devices during two separate incidents, "violating the framework of the operational pause", and wounding several.
In response, Hamas alleged that the Israel committed a "clear violation" first and that they had "dealt with this violation".
On Monday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a 48-hour extension to the initial four-day ceasefire as 20 further hostages are expected to be released.
Three Palestinians will be released for each Israeli hostage released from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog said that he had received a list of captives to be freed later today and was alerting families.
Last night, 11 more hostages were freed by Hamas after spending 51 hellish days in captivity.
Nine children, including three-year-old twins, and two mothers were released.
But the children freed last night were forced to leave behind their fathers in Hamas's maze of terror tunnels.
Captives have described the hellish conditions they were kept in underneath the bomb-blitzed Strip.
Recently released female hostages revealed they were kept inside cages, according to .
Meanwhile, the aunt of Eitan Yahalomi, 12, who was freed last night, says the terrorists forced him to watch videos of the October 7 massacres in Israel.
When he cried, they allegedly pointed a rifle at him.
Roughly 170 Israelis are still being held hostage, but 40 are no longer under its control, a Hamas source told CNN.
A total of 58 people, including 19 foreign nationals, have been released over the ceasefire's first three days.
Israel agreed to free 150 jailed Palestinians as part of the initial truce and released 33 women and young men last night.
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On October 7, Hamas stormed across the border into southern Israel, slaughtering 1,200 and dragging some 250 hostages back into Gaza.
Since then, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry estimates 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive.
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