Mural commemorating the Bibas family vandalised in Milan

A mural of the Bibas family, who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, has been defaced in Milan.

The artwork, which depicts Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, is located outside the Qatari consulate in the city

However, a piece of paper with an image of a boy in a gunsight and the words “no war” was placed over Shiri’s face in what French philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy termed a “vile gesture against the memory of the victims”.

The vandalism took place while a memorial service was being held at the nearby Milan Central Synagogue dedicated to the victims of the October 7 attacks.

Lévy condemned the act, saying: “The mural created in Milan in tribute to the Bibas family, Shiri and her two little sons, Kfir and Ariel, was vandalised. Shiri’s face was covered, in the same gesture, but reversed, as those infamous individuals who for two years have torn hostage photos from the walls of our cities.”

The mural was created by artist Alexsandro Palombo, and it isn’t his first October 7 victim memorial piece to be vandalised.

His mural honouring Nova Festival survivor Vlada Patapov was defaced just hours after its unveiling in 2024.

Other murals by the artist have been defaced as well, including those of Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano, and Edith Bruck.