Netanyahu ally posts apology video after calling Bibas family ‘despicable’ for criticizing PM

Right-wing pundit Yinon Magal on Friday posted a video in which he apologized to the uncle and cousin of Shiri Bibas for saying the family of the hostage, who was killed with her two young sons in Gaza, were “despicable” and owed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an apology. The meeting with Mauricio and Jimmy came after “a campaign of incitement against me that takes things I said out of context,” Magal, a prominent media ally of Netanyahu’s, said in an X post accompanying the video. Shiri’s sister-in-law Ofri Bibas, who Magal had attacked and whose brother Yarden Bibas was released alive from captivity and is the family’s only surviving member, said the video left her fuming. She said of the relatives in the video that “the apology was not theirs to accept,” and added of Magal’s initial comments that “nothing was taken out of context.” Magal had said on 103FM Radio on Tuesday that anyone who contributed to a 2024 book about Netanyahu called “Mr. Abandonment — The Legacy of the Hostages’ Forsaker” were the “most despicable people in the country.” Their only way to make amends was to vote for the premier’s Likud party in the October 27 election, said Magal. He also read the names of the more than 160 contributors, who include Ofri Bibas and some two dozen other people whose loved ones were abducted or killed in the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, as well as some former hostages released in a weeklong November 2023 truce. 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 Asked by his incredulous co-host Ben Caspit whether the Bibas family really owed Netanyahu an apology, Magal doubled down, saying that if they spread “false tales” against the premier, then yes. Later in the show, when Caspit again pressed him on the matter, Magal said: “For the sake of the argument, I’ll exclude the October 7 families.” Magal’s comments provoked a firestorm among hostage families and opposition leaders. The Second Authority for Television and Radio, Israel’s commercial media regulator, said Thursday that it had launched violation proceedings against Magal over his “hurtful vilification” of victims’ families on the eve of the Hamas onslaught’s third anniversary, which was marked on Wednesday. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas (Courtesy) On Friday, Magal said on X that after days of “incitement” against him, he had received a request to meet from Mauricio and Jimmy Miller. Advertisement Jimmy’s aunt is Shiri Bibas’s mother, Margit Silberman, who was murdered by Hamas in her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 along with Shiri’s father, Yossi Silberman. Jimmy himself has accused Netanyahu of thwarting hostage deals for political reasons, and used to rile up the crowd at Hostages Square demonstrations that Magal has repeatedly denigrated. On X, Magal said the meeting with Mauricio and Jimmy was “long, painful and good.” “I took the opportunity to apologize to them and to the families that were hurt,” Magal said. Seated on a couch next to the pair, Magal in the two-minute video said he had spoken on Tuesday “generally about the campaign against Netanyahu, and then on the air it got into the families,” whom he insisted had no intention to hurt. He added that the media did not talk about how he had “excluded” the October 7 families, but he conceded that it was a mistake not to make that clear immediately. “I got into a situation that I didn’t intend, didn’t plan and didn’t want, and just got into some kind of loop, and it came out very badly and hurt a lot of people,” Magal said. “I want to apologize to you, and ask you to convey that also to Yarden and Ofri, and to the entire family, and to all the families.” Mauricio replied in the video that “Your apology is genuine. Everyone makes mistakes.” Jimmy did not speak in the video. Advertisement בימים האחרונים מתנהל נגדי מסע הסתה שמוציא מהקשרם דברים שאמרתי. ובכל זאת, אמרתי דברים, והם פגעו באנשים. לכן שמחתי כשדוד ובן דוד של שירי ביבס ביקשו להפגש איתי. זו הייתה פגישה ארוכה, כואבת וטובה. וניצלתי את ההזדמנות כדי להתנצל בפניהם ובפני המשפחות שנפגעו. שתהיה שבת בראשית טובה… pic.twitter.com/IzwpuV4sqp — ינון מגל Yinon Magal (@YinonMagal) October 9, 2026 Ofri Bibas later said on Facebook that the video left her “fuming.” “Without my knowledge, Yinon Magal met with two relatives of Shiri’s on the side of her mother,” she wrote. “Out of respect for [Shiri and her mother] I will choose only to say — the apology was not theirs to accept.” Magal “knew that Yarden and I would not accept his apology because it was not done in good faith. Nothing was taken out of context,” Ofri Bibas said. She added that Magal’s comments were “part of a campaign of incitement, division and poison that has targeted the families for a long time and aims only to continue the rule of the person who to this day refuses to take responsibility for the greatest debacle that ever befell [the nation].” The last hostages in Hamas captivity, living and dead, were returned to Israel in October of last year, two years after the start of the war. Opposition figures have accused Netanyahu of having extended the war in Gaza to appease his far-right coalition partners, even at the expense of hostages left languishing in captivity. Critics have also 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. Yarden Bibas (R) with his sister Ofri as he eulogizes his wife Shiri and two young sons Kfir and Ariel, at Tsoher Regional Cemetery on February 26, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube) 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 the future prime minister Naftali Bennett, but resigned when accused of inappropriate conduct by several former female colleagues. 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. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Anti-Israel groups urge boycott of Andrea Bocelli’s Jordan concert; he played Tel Aviv in 2022 2 PM’s ex-military secretary: Netanyahu prioritized political survival when he could have saved hostages’ lives 3 Anti-Israel Greens’ chief Polanski loses UK parliamentary election to Labour candidate 4 US said preparing options to renew Iran war, including plan for 3 days of intense strikes 5 Trump says US won’t hit Iran this month, as Zamir said to warn strike could delay Israel’s election 6 Navi Pillay, head of UN commission that accused Israel of genocide, wins Nobel Peace Prize 7 Together in their solitude: 7 IDF widows find friendship as they navigate life after loss 8 US imposes sanctions on ICC, hours after Nobel award to former judge read more: Israel Inside Bibas family Yinon Magal October 7 If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY Already a member? 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