Hanan Yablonka, 41: Devoted dad of 2 who enjoyed and celebrated life
Murdered while fleeing the Supernova festival on October 7, body kidnapped to Gaza and recovered in May 2024
Hanan Yablonka, 41, from Tel Aviv, was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 after fleeing the Supernova music festival.
Hanan is believed to have been slain at or near the Mefalsim Junction after leaving the rave, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza and retrieved by troops from Jabaliya in northern Gaza in May 2024.
The group of friends he was with at the party, who left with him when the rocket fire began — including Lior Asulin — were all also killed that day. Hanan was killed four days before his 42nd birthday, and Lior was killed a day after his 43rd birthday.
Hanan’s family found no trace of him in the bullet-ridden car in which he fled the rave, including any blood splatter. His keys, phone and identification document were inside, and pieced together video footage showed him fleeing the rave, but nothing further.
It wasn’t until January 2024 that the IDF officially declared that Hanan was one of the hostages being held in Gaza. His fate was not known until his body was recovered months later.
Hanan was buried on May 26, 2024, in Tel Aviv. He is survived by his two children, Emily, 12, and Yarin, 9, as well as his parents, Reuven and Vered, and his sisters, Orit and Avivit.
“Hanan was a devoted and loving father, a family man and friend. He was a sports enthusiast and an avid fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hanan was taken hostage while doing what he loved most — enjoying music, dancing, and celebrating life,” the Hostage Families Forum said.
“I feared this ending but I wanted so much for it to end differently,” Avivit told AFP at the funeral. “We thought they were coming back alive, but they’re coming back in coffins.”
At his funeral, his 11-year-old nephew, Amor, noted that “for eight months, I have been fighting for you, for eight months the longing hasn’t stopped, for eight months I haven’t stopped mentioning the name Hanan Yablonka,” according to Ynet.
“Even when you weren’t here, you made my dream of flying to New York come true and gave me the honor of speaking about you in front of important people. Because of you, I met many people who are now an important part of my life. Thank you for being part of my life, I’m really sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye. I’m sorry you won’t be able to come to my bar mitzvah,” he said.
Eulogizing her son, Vered Yablonka thanked the thousands who joined a solidarity march to the cemetery, and described Hanan as someone who was “impossible not to love.”
“And I ask, how can I bid you farewell? In our worst dreams, we couldn’t imagine something like this. What I would give to hug you, to kiss you, breathe you,” she said, vowing that her grandchildren will “grow up to be happy and joyful despite the difficult farewell.”
