Two days before the implementation of the only successful hostage deal – one that saved the lives of 80 children, women, and men – as we prepared for the anticipated return of my sister-in-law Shiri and my young nephews, Ariel, who was four years old when taken, and baby Kfir, who was just nine months old, I wrote a letter to my brother Yarden as part of the families' effort to send messages to the hostages.
"Our dear Dodgy [his family nickname], what can I possibly write... We're worried and miss you terribly! I want you to know that Shiri and the children are okay! They're coming home tomorrow! We're all here ready to welcome them, support them, and be there for them however long they need. Everyone in Israel and around the world has fallen in love with you and the ginger kids. Their orange hair has made them famous, and Shiri watches over them like a lioness.
"The entire family has your back, and we're doing everything possible to bring you home quickly. We want you here for Hanukkah when Mom will make you your gluten-free holiday dish. We're planning so many asado feasts that you'll get tired of meat and become vegan. I hope you're not alone in there, and that you're helping others stay strong. Stay strong – we believe in you. We love you so much! And we'll keep fighting with all our might until you return to us."
More than a year has passed since that letter, since that deal. Since Hamas announced that my sister-in-law and nephews were killed. A year since they filmed Yarden being told about their deaths, while he still believed they hadn't been taken hostage at all. For 425 days, my brother has been left in captivity to cope alone with the most devastating news imaginable.
I used to love the weekend, eagerly anticipating each holiday. This year, every date serves only as a painful reminder of time slipping away. Now, we face a second Hanukkah without you. I've become less naive, less optimistic, and more heartbroken – yet I still wait for the prime minister to do what is right, ethical, moral, and just.
It wasn't a Hanukkah miracle that freed dozens of hostages last year – it was a political decision. Since then, other decisions, driven by considerations not necessarily in the best interest of my family or the state, have blocked several opportunities for another deal. No Hanukkah miracle will bring them back this year – only a diplomatic solution will.
Prime Minister Netanyahu – you've proven that when there's genuine will, there's a way. You reached an arrangement in Lebanon; you can achieve one in Gaza. The conditions are similar: Hamas has been struck, its leaders eliminated, and you retain the right to resume military operations if they violate any agreements. The IDF can protect our citizens from within our borders.
Your decision to bring them back will directly impact both your legacy and ours – whether you'll be remembered as the one who brought them home or as the one who abandoned them. The fundamental difference between Gaza and Lebanon is that in Gaza you have 101 additional reasons to act: 101 brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of us all, waiting to return home from hell.
There will be no victory until they return. We can no longer wait for their return – some to begin rehabilitation, others to be laid to rest.
Ofri Bibas Levi is the sister of Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped to Gaza along with his wife Shiri and their two children Ariel and Kfir on Oct. 7, 2023.
