Click to expand Image A mourner at the grave of hostages Shiri Bibas, Kfir Bibas and Ariel Bibas after their funeral on February 26, 2025, in Tzohar, Israel. © 2025 Amir Levy/Getty Images Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas were taken hostage by a Palestinian armed group on October 7, 2023, and buried in Israel on Wednesday as mourners bid them farewell along the funeral procession route. Kfir, then 9-months-old, and Ariel, 4-years-old, were the youngest people taken hostage that day. The family members’ funeral is a stark reminder of why hostage-taking is prohibited under international humanitarian law.Shortly after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel, footage emerged of a group of men, some wearing uniforms and some with military assault rifles, encircling 32-year-old Shiri Bibas as she held her two young boys. Human Rights Watch found that Palestinian armed groups committed hostage-taking and other serious violations during the October 7 attacks that amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir all died while they were in custody in Gaza. While there are different accounts of how they were killed, none independently verified, the bottom line is that they and the more than 200 civilians abducted on October 7 should not have been taken to Gaza in the first place. Palestinian armed groups should have unconditionally released all civilians in their custody, ceasefire or not.International law prohibits holding anyone hostage or without legal basis. Palestinian armed groups should immediately and safely release all civilians they detain, just as Israeli authorities should immediately and safely release all unlawfully held Palestinians. Human beings should never be bargaining chips.