Former hostage Yarden Bibas met Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza tunnels, requested to be held with best friend David Cunio

Yarden Bibas, the former Israeli hostage whose wife and two young boys were murdered by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, gave his first interview with an Israeli news channel, where he spoke about his encounter with the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip.

Bibas spoke with Channel 12 News, along with Sharon Cunio – the wife of hostage David Cunio – and Eitan Cunio, the twin brother of David, and older brother of Ariel Cunio, who both remain in captivity. 

The joint interview was aired on Tuesday, just one day before David Cunio’s birthday – his second spent in captivity. 

Bibas, who has been friends with Cunio since first grade, described meeting him again in the Gaza tunnels on the day Sharon and the girls were released. 

“I met David on the day Sharon was released,” Bibas recalled. “He passed by me in the tunnel and continued to where he was being held. When he saw me for the first time, he was in shock. He was sure he was looking at a ghost. I didn’t recognize him at first either, but as soon as I did, I just got up, we hugged, and they hurried him to move on to the next place.”  

Sharon Cunio, who was initially held with David until her release by Hamas, said that they didn’t know that Yarden had survived the attacks. 

“We were convinced Yarden wasn’t alive,” Sharon explained. “Because of certain testimonies we received from people we were with in captivity, we got the impression that Yarden didn’t survive. So I think it was a shock for David to see Yarden there.”  

Bibas also described how he had requested to be held with David Cunio after being informed that his wife and sons were dead. 

"I wanted to be with my closest friend,” he recounted. “At first, I was afraid to ask to be moved. I didn’t know where he was, with better people, worse people, I knew the ones I was with, so maybe it was right to stay with them.”

Hamas filmed a video of Bibas being informed that his wife and sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Only upon his release from captivity, did Bibas learn the truth – that their captors had murdered them. 

Bibas said that after filming the video, he did not want to be separated from his best friend. 

“I was terribly afraid to leave, but after the video, I realized I had to be next to David. We slept mattress next to mattress. He [David] thought about the girls and Sharon, he thought about everyone. He thought a lot about his brother [Eitan], because he didn’t know his condition.” 

Shortly after filming the video, Sinwar came to the tunnel where Bibas was staying, and Bibas asked not to be separated from David. 

“I told him, ‘This is my best friend, I want to stay with him,’” Bibas shared. “He said, ‘No problem, you stay with him.’” 

However, after just a couple weeks, they were separated again. 

“He didn’t understand why they separated us, I didn’t understand either,” Bibas explained. “To this day, I don’t understand why.” 

Despite being separated, the two continued to look out for each other. Bibas described how Cunio had given a pillow to some other hostages to pass along to him. 

“He made sure they brought me a pillow, he sent a pillow with them for me,” Bibas recounted. “We would meet from time to time, when we passed each other in the tunnel, sometimes they moved us from one place to another, or they moved them, so there was always a quick, strong hug, and ‘keep walking.’” 

The last time Bibas saw Cunio, he told him, “It’ll be okay, brother, I love you, it’ll be okay,” Bibas said. “But after that, we were separated, and I don’t know how he continued, I hope he’s strong, I hope he knows everyone is waiting for him.” 

He also revealed that his decision to ask to be together with David in captivity may have saved his life. 

“In fact, the decision to ask to move to him saved my life,” Bibas noted. “Because people I was with were murdered later, those were the six adults.” 

Bibas was held hostage with Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Alex Dancyg, Nadav Popplewell, Avraham Munder and Yagev Buchshtab – all of whom were killed. According to an IDF investigation, the six men were shot by their captors in a tunnel in Khan Younis after an Israeli strike in February 2024. 

On May 21, David Cunio marked his second birthday in Hamas captivity without his wife and daughters. He is 35 years old. His twin brother Eitan said he hasn’t celebrated his birthday since Oct. 7, 2023. 

“It’s so important that they come back,” Bibas explained, “so we can start to recover, to find what kind of life we’re heading toward. I don’t know where I’ll be later, I don’t know if I’ll be somewhere else, if I’ll be near Eitan, David, and Ariel. I don’t know where my life is going, and I just want to reach the stage where I can decide where I’m taking it.”