Alex Lobanov, 33: Bar manager, dad of 2 ‘who loved nature’

Alex Lobanov, 33, from Ashkelon, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova music festival on October 7. He was held captive in Gaza for almost 11 months before he was murdered by his captors in a tunnel in Rafah on August 29, 2024.

His body was recovered two days later by the IDF, along with those of Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Carmel Gat, and brought back to Israel for burial.

Alex, a bartender and business owner, was working as the head barman at the desert rave when he was kidnapped. He told his wife that morning that he was trying to run and hide in the nearby forest from the terrorists attacking the festival. That was the last she ever heard from him.

Alex was buried in Ashkelon on September 1. He is survived by his wife, Michal, their two children, Tom and Kai (who was born in March 2024 while his father was held captive), his parents, Oksana and Gregory and his brother, Anton.

Born in Russia, Alex moved to Israel with his family and settled in Ashkelon where he grew up. His loved ones said Alex was a prankster with a sense of humor who loved the beach and the sea, including surfing, and enjoyed jeep treks in the desert.

He was also a volunteer with the Yedidim organization, which helps stranded motorists.

He and his wife Michal met a decade earlier while he was working as a chef in a restaurant and she was a waitress. In 2019 he and a partner opened “Beer Market” in the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem, but it didn’t survive the COVID pandemic. Later Alex established his own company providing bar services for events and parties — which is what brought him to Supernova.

The couple’s first son, Tom, was born in 2021, and Kai was born while his father was being held hostage in a Hamas tunnel.

In his memory, his family set up a memorial website describing Alex as having “a huge heart, a captivating smile, rolling laughter that made everyone happy. He loved nature, lived by the sea, and mostly loved to help and give to others.”

His loved ones said they hope to set up a physical memorial for Alex, “a magical corner in nature, with a picnic table, benches and a barbecue, exactly as Alex loved in life, to hang out, be happy and enjoy with family and friends.”

He and his two closest childhood friends, Dima and Zohar, called themselves the “three musketeers” and had a shared tattoo of three swords with the letters of their names and the words “all for one and one for all.” Zohar told Ynet that Alex “was our glue, he always connected everyone, wherever we went. He’s not a regular person, he never gets stuck, he’s always looking for something new — ‘let’s open this business, let’s do that.'” Dima said, “Alex is the one who makes things happen in our group. He announces new ideas and carries them out.”

At his funeral, his wife, Michal, described Alex as “the best father and the best husband” in the world.

“Love of my life… it is really true that God takes the best,” she cried. “I want to focus on your love of others, your love of life and freedom, a freedom that was taken from you on October 7 by those despicable people.”

Michal said Alex was “the best father in the world, the best person that I knew… Thank you for the privilege of being a mother and being your wife.

She promised to raise their two children with Alex’s “values and ethics” and said that he would be “our one and only hero.”

“Please come to me in [my] dreams, send me signs. Rest, my sweetheart, now you can rest,” she added. “Please send me strength, I will be yours forever and ever until we meet again.”

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