Four-year-old Ariel was kidnapped along with his mother, Shiri, and his brother, Kfir—who was taken at only 9 months old—from their home in Nir Oz. A video of Shiri, terrified, wrapping her two children in a blanket became one of the defining images of war and horror. His father, Yarden, was seen in another video being led by terrorists into the Gaza Strip.

The terrorists' cameras recorded the break-in at the Bibas family home, where they forced the door open with a screwdriver. Yarden Bibas told his sister, "They broke into our house, it feels like the end. I'm scared to death, I have guns, and they have automatic weapons." Ariel's grandparents, Shiri’s parents, Yossi and Margit Silverman, were murdered.

Ariel was murdered while in Hamas captivity, and his body was returned to Israel as part of the Hostage-Ceasefire deal in February 2025.