Captive Claims Hamas Saved Him from Israeli Bombs Ten Times.
In a video recorded before his killing, which was blamed on Israeli strikes, Alexander Lobanov pleads with Netanyahu to stop indiscriminate strikes against the besieged Gaza Strip. He accuses the hawkish Israeli PM of war policies.
In a pre-recorded video, an Israeli captive held by Hamas in Gaza and killed along with five other captives in the Israeli strikes revealed that he had been moved ten times by Hamas fighters to protect him from the relentless Israeli bombardment. Alexander Lobanov said this in a video shot before he was killed, together with other captives whose bodies were later recovered by the invading Israeli military in blockaded Gaza.
In a video released late Wednesday by Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, Lobanov described the dire conditions he and other hostages went through. “We are being held under tough conditions; water, food, electricity, and cleaning supplies are unavailable,” he said. “There is constant bombing all the time by the Israeli army. We are scared and can barely sleep.”
He also reported that Hamas fighters moved him “approximately ten times to preserve” his life. Lobanov addressed the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his regime, whom he accused of abandoning the hostages.
“You have failed and abandoned us on October 7,” he said. “And now, you continue to fail in every attempt to free us alive.”He accused Netanyahu and also his government who is going to kill the hostages to avoid negotiating with Hamas. “You are trying to kill us to avoid making any deal,” he said.
Lobanov urged Israelis to protest and take to the streets to demand the hostages return alive from Gaza. The al-Qassam Brigades released the video featuring Lobanov alongside another hostage, Carmel Gat; killed in Gaza.
The video showed Gat, from the Be’eri settlement near Gaza, speaking about the difficult conditions she was facing. “Bombings by Israel aren’t stopping, and I don’t know if I will get out of here alive,” Gat said.
She pleaded with the Israeli regime and Netanyahu: “Please stop abandoning us, stop this bombing, and bring us home.” More broadly, Gat urged Israelis to keep protesting. “Don’t abandon us, and don’t let anyone shut down negotiations for our release,” she said.
The Israeli army accused Hamas of killing the captives, but Hamas says that the Israeli military killed them through direct aerial bombardment. Hamas has announced that dozens of the estimated 250 captives have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli air strikes.
