October 7 · Personal story
Alex Lobanov
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im
Current outcome
Returned for burial · August 31, 2024
Alex Lobanov was killed in captivity on August 29, 2024. His body was recovered from Gaza two days later and returned to Israel for burial.
01
Life before
Alex was born in Russia and moved to Israel with his family at age eight. They settled in Ashkelon, where he grew up. He worked in restaurants, met Michal while he was a chef and she was a waitress, and later opened a beer business in Jerusalem before building an event-bar service company. His family described his love of the sea, surfing, and desert jeep trips. Alex and childhood friends Dima and Zohar called themselves the “three musketeers” and shared a tattoo of three swords. His family hoped to create a nature memorial with a picnic table, benches, and a barbecue, reflecting how he liked to gather with people.
02
Abduction
On October 7, Alex was working as head barman at the Nova gathering. During the attack, he called Michal and said he was trying to run and hide in nearby woods; that was her last contact with him. Later witness accounts reported that he helped other festivalgoers escape.
03
Captivity
A video recorded during Alex’s captivity was released with his family’s approval on September 13, 2024. He said he had been moved through about ten locations and described a lack of basic necessities, bombardment, fear, and difficulty sleeping.
04
Return
Alex was killed in Rafah on August 29, 2024. Israeli forces recovered his body from a tunnel two days later, and he was buried in Ashkelon on September 1.
05
Aftermath
Alex and Michal’s first son, Tom, was born in 2021; their second son, Kai, was born in March 2024 while Alex was held in Gaza. At his funeral, Michal spoke of his love for people, life, and freedom, and promised to raise their children with his values. His brother Anton remembered a broad smile and the optimism Alex brought to people around him.