Body of hostage Alex Lobanov extracted from Gaza; wife gave birth during his captivity
Barman was working at the Supernova music rave when Hamas terrorists attacked on October 7
On September 1, 2024, the IDF announced the death and recovery of the body of Alex Lobanov from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the military, Lobanov was murdered alongside five other hostages by their captors not long before they were found. Below are initial reports of his capture and its aftermath:
Alex Lobanov, 32, was the head barman at the Supernova desert party and has been missing since the morning of October 7, when Hamas terrorists launched an assault on the festival, killing and kidnapping partygoers.
“He’s the guy who worries about everyone else,” wrote a friend. “He brings a big cooler of beer and arak to every party, carries the extra equipment, helps people put up their tents even if they met five minutes earlier.”
The limited amount of information that Alex was able to share that morning showed that he was hiding in an olive orchard, before losing contact with his wife, Michal.
For more than a week he was considered missing before the family was informed that Alex was taken captive in Gaza.
Michal was then five months pregnant and the couple has a two-year-old. She has since given birth. The young family lives in Ashkelon, and Alex also cares for his parents, who both have physical disabilities.
The two met a decade ago when Alex was working as a chef at an Ashkelon restaurant where Michal was a waitress.
Now, said Michal, she’s been left alone and has been told that she can’t receive any kind of aid, financial or emotional, until the situation is resolved.
“I’ve been told that I’m on my own,” said Michal.