THE family of Israel’s youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas, believes time is running out as they cried: “If we wait another day, we may lose him.” 

They believe the 10-month-old baby boy is being used as a “trophy” after Hamas monsters allegedly traded him with another terrorist group inside bomb-blitzed Gaza.

The latest collection of hostages were released last night under the temporary Israel-Hamas truce agreement – but one family has been painfully absent from the hostage deals.

Now, heartbroken relatives accused Hamas of not knowing whether the Bibas family are “dead or alive”.

Baby Kfir was snatched by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz during their October 7 killing spree along with his brother Ariel, 4, mother Shiri, 32, and father, Yarden, 34.

Nothing has been heard from them since.

In yet another crushing blow, the Bibas family are not on the list of hostages set to be released today.

Shiri’s cousin Yifat Zailer has told of her ongoing agony as they wait for news.

“It’s brutal,” she told Sky News, adding that she is in total disbelief that a baby could be used in their “psychological games”.

On Monday, the IDF claimed that Hamas “no longer has control” of baby Kfir and his family after they were allegedly handed over to a separate Palestinian terror group in a sick trade.

Israel now believes the “babies with red hair” are being held captive by another “faction” in Gaza’s second largest city, Khan Younis.

The densely-populated city is expected to be a major target in Israel’s next offensive in the south.

It is not currently known which Islamic terrorist group is now holding the family.

Yifat exclaimed: “What are these groups?

“We reach a dead end every time we try to figure out why Hamas is having so much trouble getting them back or whether that means if they’re alive or not.” 

Yifat continued: “It’s amazing that a baby became…a winning card or a trophy holding him hostage like this to get more arms or, I don’t know, fuel for their missile launchers.”

“I can’t stop thinking about Kfir, what he is eating, is he bathing, is he hitting his milestones?” she added.

“He needs his baby formula, he needs his nutritions. Every day counts in this matter. Every day counts.

“You know, if we wait another day, maybe we will lose him.”

The transfer of Kfir Bibas to another group sparked further fears that the baby is being used to further leverage talks to extend the truce, which is currently set to hold until today.

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Yesterday, baby Kfir’s aunt called on the world to “do whatever they can” to secure the family’s release “as soon as possible”.

Ofri Bibas said: “We don’t know where they’ve been held. From what we know, they are kept underground.

“We’re really worried,” Ofri said as she too accused the terror group of psychological warfare.

“It’s working really well because the last four days have been a big nightmare,” she said.

“I hope they don’t hold them as a trophy.”

Both Kfir and his 4-year-old brother, Ariel, have become a symbol of the ongoing nightmare endured by suffering loved ones of those abducted by Hamas during October 7.

A video of terrified mother, Shiri, clutching onto her infants as the terrorist’s dragged them screaming from their home became one of the most distinctive of the war.

The boys’ father appeared in other images to have been wounded.

It comes as the latest swap of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel saw nine women, a 17-year-old girl and two Thai nationals handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza.

The girl was pictured clutching onto her pet dog as an elderly woman was released in a wheelchair.

An hour later, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners.

Since Friday, Hamas has released 81 hostages, mostly Israeli nationals, while Israel has freed 180 Palestinian prisoners.

Hopes are being raised that the ceasefire may be extended again, which would allow more aid into Gaza which has been relentlessly battered by Israel’s bombardment, ground offensive and siege.

The war came in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on southern Israel, that saw 1,200, mostly civilian men, women and children slaughtered and some 240 hostages dragged back into Gaza.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry estimates 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory pounding of the enclave, while three out of every four Gazans have been driven from their homes.

Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending the group’s brutal 16-year rule over Gaza.

That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza into the south – where baby Kfir is feared to now be held.