Watch: Yinon Magal meets with Bibas family members and apologizes to them personally

Yinon Magal published a video documenting his personal apology to the uncle and cousin of Shiri Bibas, following remarks he made on air that sparked a public uproar. Magal admitted he harmed the family and other families but claimed his words were taken out of context as part of a smear campaign against him. He asked to convey his apology also to Yarden Bibas, Ofri, and the rest of the family.

Yinon Magal, a Channel 14 host, published a video today (Friday) documenting his personal apology to Shiri Bibas's uncle and cousin, Maurizio and Jimmy, following remarks he made on air that sparked a widespread public uproar. Magal admitted he harmed the family and other families but claimed his words were taken out of context as part of a smear campaign against him. At the start of the video, Magal told the two family members: "First of all, thank you for coming, and I'm very glad you came and asked to meet, because I didn't know what to do. I got into a situation I didn't intend, didn't plan, and didn't want, and I just got into some kind of loop, and it turned out very badly and I hurt a lot of people." He asked to convey his apology also to Yarden Bibas, Ofri, and the rest of the family, emphasizing: "I had no intention of harming the families." Magal explained that his original remarks were about a campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and were not meant to harm the families. He admitted he made a mistake by not immediately clarifying that he was excluding the families from his remarks, and that the late clarification did not receive sufficient media exposure. He described the meeting as "long, painful, and good."