Israel is consumed by an epic struggle, a reckoning that has been simmering beneath the surface as Israeli hostages have been released from Hamas captivity in recent weeks.
Following the October 7 massacre, Israel girded to defend itself from a massive existential threat: an arc of terror controlled in Tehran that spread through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Today, after almost 17 months of unrelenting military, diplomatic, legal and domestic battles, the national capacity for lies and distractions has been exhausted. The trauma never diminishes, it only builds. And the sights and stories of the hostages returning after 490-plus days in Hamas hell has triggered an explosion of rage.
Cadaverous men with sallow, gaunt, haunted eyes and bodies evoked the images of the Holocaust. The grotesque theatre productions staged by Hamas, intended to further degrade the hostages, enraged the country.
Hostages were dressed in mock IDF uniforms or prison-style garb. They have been forced to thank their Hamas captors for such kind and compassionate treatment. One young man was told to kiss his captors on stage. And smile and wave.
Eli Sharabi, a 52-year-old man held in complete isolation in a tunnel for most of the time, was taunted at his handover ceremony, holding his “goody bag” and a “certificate of release” that was signed by the Red Cross, as well as Hamas.
The stage was surrounded by squads of masked and heavily armed Hamas terrorists, along with cheering civilians. Some brought their small children and perched them on their shoulders for a better view. The banners surrounding the stage were emblazoned with slogans and images celebrating the ultimate destruction of Israel.
At the ceremony, Sharabi was asked how he was feeling. “I feel very, very happy today to return to my family and friends, to my wife and my daughters,” he replied, unaware that his family had been slaughtered by Hamas on October 7. The sadism was incomprehensible.
But what has really broken the nation was the torment of the Bibas family. Residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, this young family has become an icon of government indifference and Hamas cruelty. Their plight has also galvanized Israeli society to unite for much-needed change — in government, the IDF and everywhere.
Hiding in their safe room on October 7 and terrified by the gunfire and maniacal shouting of “Allahu akbar!” outside their home, Yarden and Shiri Bibas decided to fight. Yarden Bibas grabbed his gun. He went outside and began shooting. He didn’t stand a chance.
The consequences were unimaginable. Yarden Bibas was beaten by Hamas thugs and taken into Gaza City, where civilians continued to attack him. His head was covered in blood before he was caged in a tunnel with another Nir Oz resident who dared to resist, Ofer Kalderon.
Angered by his audacity to attempt to defend his family, Hamas terrorists were then more determined to storm the Bibas home. Unable to break down the door, they forced it open by attacking the handle with a hand drill.
Shiri cowered with her eight-month-old baby, Kfir, and four-year-old Ariel. The photograph of this mother and her orange-haired little boys surrounded by violent terrorists is seared into the national consciousness.
They were taken to Gaza. All we know is that shortly after their violent abduction, their images were captured on a CCTV camera in Khan Younis in the southern end of the Strip.
The terrorists had told Yarden Bibas that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. When he was released on Feb. 1, he knew nothing of the fate of his wife and sons — not with certainty, anyway. Hamas has lied many times regarding the condition and the fate of the hostages. Nothing is certain until it is verified. And the word of a masked terrorist in a tunnel did not suffice as verification for the IDF.
Upon his release, the first thing Yarden Bibas asked about was of the fate of Shiri and the boys. His father and sister knew nothing.
This shocking information deficit has also plagued other released hostages. After 16 months of hell, how could it be that the army and the government had not ascertained basic facts about their loved ones? A firestorm erupted in Israel.
Twenty days after Yarden Bibas’ release, Hamas outdid itself. Black coffins containing the remains of four hostages were paraded before cheering civilians. Crude propaganda banners plastered the stage, including a cartoon image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. To make matters worse, the purported remains of Shiri Bibas turned out to be an unidentified Palestinian female.
“Oops,” said Hamas. Her body was buried in rubble. We must have a mix-up. The White House expressed outrage. Shortly after, the “mistake” was rectified.
Forensic pathologists determined that Ariel and Kfir had been murdered in cold blood. The terrorists had killed them with their bare hands. Their bodies were then mutilated.
The Bibas family’s agony has come to epitomize so much that went wrong on October 7 and since. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza; 24 are believed to still be alive. And with their return will come a national reckoning that will only stoke the building biblical fury.
On Thursday, four more murdered male hostages were returned to Israel. In the middle of the night. With no obscene ceremony. And the results of an internal IDF investigation into the massive failure of October 7 was released. It is a devastating account of a massive and total systemic failure.
This, I expect, is the beginning of a prolonged and painful reckoning in Israel.
National Post
Vivian Bercovici is a former Canadian ambassador to Israel and the founder of the State of Tel Aviv.