IDF recovers body of presumed hostage Hanan Yablonka, slain by Hamas on Oct. 7
The 42-year-old spontaneously attended the Supernova music festival with four friends who were all also murdered
On May 24, 2024, the Israel Defense Forces announced it recovered the body of presumed hostage Hanan Yablonka, 42, from the northern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation. According to new “reliable intelligence” discovered amid the war, Yablonka was killed on October 7, 2023, near Mefalsim. Below are the initial reports of his presumed capture:
Hanan Yablonka, 42, was presumed taken hostage to Gaza on October 7 by Hamas terrorists who attacked the Supernova desert rave, killing 364 people and abducting at least 40.
Yablonka was with four friends in his vehicle. Later, one friend was found dead in his car, another in the field and two others in the hiding place they had found nearby.
Divorced and with two kids, ages 12 and 9, he’s someone who loves sports and music, said his mother, Vered Yablonka.
Yablonka had eaten dinner with his parents on Friday night, October 6, and then gone out with friends for another friend’s birthday. They headed north at first, and then turned around at Hadera and decided to go to the outdoor trance rave in the Negev.
“He’ll come home,” said his father, Reuven Yablonka, in a TV interview.
While the government has offered its support to the family, there is no concrete evidence of Yablonka having been taken hostage to Gaza, said his sister, Avivit, in another interview in November.
“He’s considered missing,” said Avivit.
