THE FAMILY of an Israeli hostage murdered by Hamas have released a video of him in Gaza which sheds light on the horrors of his year in captivity.
Alex Lobanov, 32, was the head barman at the Nova Music Festival ravaged by Hamas on October 7 2023.
6
6
6
6
He was found dead in a tunnel inside the Gaza Strip alongside five other hostages by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on August 31.
After they were found, Hamas released a series of taunting videos showing the hostages in captivity.
Addressing their loved ones at home and Prime Minister Netanyahu, they criticised Israel’s handling of the war and lack of a hostage-ceasefire deal.
Several freed hostages have said Hamas coerces them into making such videos and Israeli media usually only releases them if the family requests they do.
READ MORE ON ISRAEL HAMAS WAR
Alex’s family authorised parts of the video to be published online via The Hostages Families Forum, who said it reveals “Hamas’ cruelty”.
In the footage Alex says they are being held in “very difficult circumstances”.
“There are no basic supplies, like water, food, electricity and hygiene,” he says.
“There are bombings all the time, we are afraid and have difficulty sleeping.”
Speaking directly to Netanyahu and his government, Lobanov says they have failed “in all efforts to release us alive”.
He said: “You are just trying to kill us for not making a deal.
“I would just like to remind you that in [the 2011 deal to release IDF soldier Gilad Shalit], over 1,000 terrorists were released.”
Addressing his fellow citizens he said: “Go out to the streets, protest, do everything so that we will come out of here alive.”
“To my family, Michal, Tom, Mom, Dad — Remain strong and united, I am doing well, miss you and love you.”
Alex’s wife Michal gave birth to their second child while he was in captivity.
The Hostages Families Forum, who have been organising country-wide protests against the government’s handling of the war, said the video emphasises the urgent need to bring home the remaining hostages.
A statement from the group read: “This horrific video further demonstrates Hamas’s cruelty.
“Alex and five other hostages managed to survive in nightmarish conditions for over 10 months before being brutally executed.
“Recently released footage from their underground prison offered only a glimpse of the unimaginable horrors they endured in captivity.
“Time is running out for the remaining 101 hostages. A deal must be struck immediately to save them.”
Hamas has previously released footage of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi and Carmel Gat in captivity.
The IDF this week revealed footage from inside the tunnel where the six hostages were kept.
Footage shows Daniel Hagari entering the sprawling tunnel where the group was held captive for almost a year in horrific conditions.
The hostages were found dead in Rafah on August 31.
An autopsy carried out by the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute found they had been shot multiple times from close range.
They were murdered only some 48 to 72 hours before the examination, meaning they were killed between Thursday and Friday morning before the army reached them on Saturday afternoon.
Some 101 hostages remain in Gaza and Israeli officials estimate a third of them are already dead.
The discovery of the six hostages has sparked a renewed wave of fury across Israel with hundreds of thousands protesting for a hostage release deal and ceasefire.
A total of 251 hostages were abducted to Gaza on October 7 after Hamas launched a bloody assault on Israel which killed around 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians.
Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since during the war in Gaza, the Strip’s Hamas-linked health ministry claims.
Who were the six hostages killed in Gaza?
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
THE SIX hostages were aged between 23 and 40 and were kept in Gaza for almost a year after their kidnap on October 7 2023.
They were: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.
Ori, 25; Eden, 24; Almog, 27; and Alexander, 33, were all taken from the tragic Supernova music festival.
The sixth, Carmel, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
Following news of the deaths, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog apologised to the families of the victims for “failing to bring them home safely”.
The family of Ms Yerushalmi said: “We share with great sorrow that our beloved Eden was murdered in Hamas captivity.”
Israel’s army said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, around a kilometre from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive a week before.
US-citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, became one of the most well-known captives held by Hamas as his parents met with world leaders and pressed for his release.
They spoke out about the horrors of the ongoing war at the Democratic National Convention in August.
The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack.
US President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by the news of their deaths.
6
6
