Netanyahu ally slams ‘despicable’ Bibas family, others who contributed to book blaming PM for hostage deaths

Prominent right-wing media personality Yinon Magal said Tuesday that people who blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the death of hostages in Gaza were “the most despicable people who live in the State of Israel.” Among those singled out were members of the Bibas family and the widow of downed navigator Ron Arad. Speaking on his morning program with journalist Ben Caspit on 103FM, Magal, a main booster of Netanyahu, said the only penance for those people who contributed to a book about Netanyahu called “Mr. Abandonment — The Legacy of the Hostages’ Forsaker,” is to vote for his Likud party in the October 27 election. Magal proceeded to read the more than 160 names of people who contributed to the book, which was produced by the Haim Forum of hostage families opposed to Netanyahu and was sold at anti-government protests for the hostages’ release in 2024 and 2025. “All the names I just read will be remembered in infamy, on a pillar of shame,” said Magal. “These are the most despicable people who live in the State of Israel, who spread a blood libel about Benjamin Netanyahu, that he is Mr. Abandonment.” The contributors include some two dozen people directly affected by the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, including bereaved families, relatives of hostages, and several women who were abducted and then released in the week-long November 2023 hostage deal. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Among those contributors were Ofri Bibas Levy, sister of Yarden Bibas, who was released in the early 2025 hostage deal after his wife Shiri and young sons Kfir and Ariel were murdered about a month into captivity. The bodies of the mother and children were returned in the same hostage deal. Another contributor was Tami Arad, wife of Ron Arad, the IDF Air Force navigator who was captured after his fighter jet was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. Copies of ‘Mr. Abandonment’ about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seen at a book launch in Tel Aviv on August 13, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90) When an incredulous Caspit asked if Arad and the Bibas family really had to apologize to Netanyahu, Magal doubled down. Advertisement “Tami Arad’s pain about her disaster doesn’t authorize her to spread a blood libel about Benjamin Netanyahu,” Magal said. “The Bibas family too — Bibi didn’t abandon their return,” Magal said, using the premier’s nickname. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas (Courtesy) Asked again by Caspit if the Bibas family had what to apologize for, Magal repeated, referring to Netanyahu: “If they spread false tales about him, yes. They have no right to spread false tales.” Bibas Levy, who often railed against the government during the hostage protests, later responded on Facebook: “The only ones I’ll apologize to until the day I die are Shiri, Ariel and Kfir.” Ofri Bibas-Levy, sister of Yarden Bibas, held hostage in Gaza with his wife, Shiri and two kids, Kfir and Ariel, talks to the media, in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 14, 2023. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File) Magal is an outspoken and influential Netanyahu supporter who also hosts “The Patriots,” the flagship talk show on the pro-government Channel 14. He briefly served in the Knesset in 2015 in a right-wing party led by future prime minister Naftali Bennett, but resigned when accused of inappropriate conduct by several former female colleagues. Advertisement Magal has previously been accused of making light of October 7 victims, including when he said in 2024 that as a religious man, it “bothered” him that there was a statue of the Buddha at the Nova music festival where hundreds of people were murdered on October 7. The “255” organization, which represents former hostages and their families, and is named for the number of hostages returned dead or alive from Gaza after October 7, slammed Magal’s comments Tuesday. Calling hostages and their families despicable and shameful, and saying they should apologize, is “at all times, and especially on the eve of October 7, not criticism,” the organization said. “It’s abuse of people who have already paid the heaviest price imaginable.” Opposition parties also blasted Magal, with former deputy IDF chief Yair Golan, head of the left-leaning Democrats, saying 103FM should immediately suspend the host, whom Golan called a “despicable mouthpiece who chooses to make families’ pain into a tool for Netanyahu.” Opposition chief Yair Lapid, who is running in the election as a minor partner in Bennett’s B’Yachad party, said, “Nothing can atone for Yinon Magal’s sins anymore. He is a hater of Israel and a traitor from within.” Protesters light a bonfire on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road as they call for the release of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza, August 16, 2025. (Aviv Hassidov / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement) The Yashar party, whose head, former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, lost a son and two nephews in the Gaza war, said Magal and other “Netanyahu yes-men” were “targeting bereaved families for daring to make their voice heard. And Netanyahu sees everything, on the eve of October 7, and is silent.” Yisrael Beytenu candidate Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Elroi was killed fighting on October 7, accused Magal of pumping “fake propaganda” on behalf of “his patron” Netanyahu, “the forefather of the conception that led us to the largest disaster in the country’s history.” Opposition figures have accused Netanyahu of enabling the Hamas onslaught by letting Qatar fund the terror group to the tune of millions of dollars in cash on a monthly basis for years until the shock attack. Advertisement Netanyahu has also been accused of thwarting a hostage deal with Hamas and instead extending the war to appease his far-right coalition partners. The opposition demands the government form a statutory state commission of inquiry into the causes of the onslaught and the conduct of the war. Netanyahu has rejected such a commission because its members are selected by the judiciary, which the long-serving premier claims is biased against him. Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism , please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Top Haredi rabbi denounces Israeli state, religious soldiers; opposition rebukes him, notes ties to Netanyahu 2 Book review ‘You want to call Trump, Bibi?’: How incoming US president’s wrath was leveraged to close hostage deal 3 Shin Bet agents participating in interrogation of flydubai terrorist in UAE 4 Interview Bereaved by war, determined to heal, protect and revive Israel: Gadi Eisenkot’s prime ministerial mission 5 Shin Bet chief to far-right minister: The Palestinians do not burn the homes of Jews 6 Israel was prepared to shoot down flydubai jet during attempted terror attack — report 7 Hundreds of anti-Israel protests planned worldwide around October 7 anniversary 8 Most Arkia and Israir flights use planes and crews leased from foreign airlines, in arrangement okayed by PM read more: Israel Inside Benjamin Netanyahu October 7 Hamas atrocities Yinon Magal Hamas hostages If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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