Russian-Israeli dual citizen Aleksandr Lobanov has been identified among the six hostages found dead in a tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.
Lobanov (named Alex Lubnov by Israeli officials) was seized by Hamas militants during their incursion into southern Israel on October 7. The five other hostages whose bodies were discovered on Saturday evening were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, aged 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, and Alms Sarusi, 25.
Lobanov, a 32-year-old father-of-two, lived in Ashkelon, and was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where he was working as a bar manager, according to the Hostage Families Forum, an organization representing relatives of the captives. According to testimonies cited by the organization, Alex helped to evacuate people and ran with five others to Be’eri forest, but was captured while they escaped.
Lobanov is survived by his wife and two children, one aged two and the other five months old. The younger child was born while he was in captivity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Lobanov’s parents, having expressed his condolences. The leader apologized to the family for Israel’s failure to return him and the other five abductees alive.
The Hostages Families Forum bows its head in mourning for the murder in captivity of Alexander Lobanov.Alexander (Alex) Lobanov (32), from Ashkelon, Son of Oksana and Gregory. Married to Michal, they have a two-year-old child and a 5-month-old baby born while Alex was in… pic.twitter.com/wFMqKjICiu
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) September 1, 2024
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted when the Palestinian militant group carried out a cross-border incursion ten months ago, killing around 1,100 Israelis and taking more than 200 hostages. Some were later freed, either through prisoner swaps or via rescue operations by the Israeli army. The extensive Israeli military response has claimed nearly 40,700 lives, while 94,060 people have been wounded, according to Palestinian health officials.
Negotiations to promote a truce and secure the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been ongoing for months with mediation from Qatar, the US, and Egypt. The latest round of talks in Cairo failed after Hamas rejected new Israeli conditions, casting further doubt over peace efforts.
According to Israel, 251 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken during the 7 October raid, and it’s believed that 103 are still being held in Gaza.
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