From the Liveblog of
Friday, September 13, 2024
Family of executed hostage Alex Lobanov authorize release of final video from captivity
The family of slain hostage Alex Lobanov authorizes the publication of parts of the final video recorded by his Hamas captors.
In the days following the execution of six hostages, the terror group released several propaganda videos of the hostages. Israeli authorities and human rights groups, and several freed hostages, have said that hostages are coerced into making their remarks in such videos. Israeli media outlets generally publish them only if their families request that they do so.
In the 90 second, heavily edited video, Lobanov says the hostages are being held “in very very difficult circumstances. There are no basic supplies, like water, food electricity and hygiene.”
“There are bombings all the time, we are afraid and have difficulty sleeping,” he says, adding that Hamas has moved him from hideout to hideout ten times during his time in captivity.
Appealing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government, Lobanov says they failed the people on October 7th and have failed the hostages since “in all efforts to release us alive.”
He accuses the government of trying to kill them so they do not have to make a deal.
באישור המשפחה: התיעוד האחרון של אלכס לובנוב ז״ל שנרצח בשבי חמאס pic.twitter.com/YJlNES0Y9S
— Lina N (@E_Niaz15) September 13, 2024
He calls on the Israeli public to help his pregnant wife and two-year-old child make their voices heard. “Go out to the streets, protest, do everything so that we will come out of here alive.”
The clip ends with Lobanov saying: “To my family, Michal, Tom, Mom, Dad — Remain strong and united, I miss and love you.”
Following the release of the video, the Hostages Families Forum says his final plea only makes it more urgent to bring the rest of the captives home.
“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,” the Forum says.
