Ofri Bibas, sister of Yarden, published a message from her brother on Sunday, referring to the excruciating pain and devastation the family is suffering after his release from captivity.
"Last night our personal journey as a family to bring Yarden, Shiri, Ariel and Kfir ended. It ended in the most terrible and painful way. Within two weeks, we went from immense joy over Yarden's release from Hamas captivity, to profound sadness and shock over the murder of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir by Hamas terrorists," said Ofri.
She added, "We have endured sixteen months of indescribable emotional turmoil and the certainty we have received will take a very long time to digest. Now we are beginning a new struggle to achieve healing, rehabilitation, and recovery. It will be long and difficult. Yarden is still dealing with the publicity and exposure of his family."
Regarding Yarden’s coping with the difficult news, Ofri noted, "It is not easy and even frightening. The reactions to the murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir are very touching for him, but he is still trying to digest the excruciating news. He is swaying on a spectrum of emotions between someone who has been released from hell and was overly happy about it, to someone who has to deal with such a difficult loss; the loss of everything that was home to him."
"He often wonders how Shiri would have reacted to all of this, but Shiri is not here to process it with him. For Shiri, for Yarden, and for the entire family, we ask that you respect the privacy of the nature of the funeral and the shiva (week of mourning) that we have chosen, the details of which will be published at a later stage," she added.
Ofri spoke about Shiri and said, "Our Shiri, we will miss you so much. We will always remember the way you hugged everyone with love, just like you held and hugged Ariel and Kfir on that terrible day. You were sensitive, protective, full of life and joy. You would quietly enter a room and immediately light it up with your smile. You were an amazing mother, a perfect partner to Yarden, a friend who was always there for everyone."
"I'm sorry that we weren't there for you. Our only consolation is that you are finally home. Yarden can see the supportive reactions, whether online or on the streets. He gets excited and wants to say: “You don't have to ask for forgiveness. The forgiveness that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir deserve should come first and foremost with the release of all the other hostages to their homes and families."
"Our struggle is not over yet," she concluded. "Sixty-three people are still in captivity. They are there, and if they are not released immediately, we will lose more lives. We won't be able to bring the fallen to burial. Only when everyone has been released will begin to heal."