October 7 · Personal story
Chanan Yablonka
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
The Nova festival grounds near Re’im; he was killed near Mefalsim Junction
Current outcome
Returned for burial · May 24, 2024
His body was recovered overnight in Jabaliya; the Shin Bet and IDF announced the recovery on 24 May 2024.
01
Before 7 October
Chanan Yablonka was the youngest child in his family, a lively boy who loved time with his older sisters. In Tel Aviv he played football in his neighborhood, later studied at Hadash High School, and became known for making classmates laugh and smoothing over disagreements. He married at 30 and raised two children, Emily and Yarin; he loved to cook for them. Chanan followed Hapoel Tel Aviv in football and basketball, surfed, listened to music and stayed close to his sister Orit and friend Lior Asulin. He was nicknamed “European champion” by childhood friends. After military service he worked in banking, then in hotel sales in the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange district, where he saw his father at work and met his sister for coffee. In August 2023, the family celebrated his daughter Emily’s bat mitzvah.
02
7 October
Chanan had planned to attend a party in northern Israel, then made a spontaneous decision to go with Lior Asulin and friends to Nova near Re’im. As they fled the festival, the group reached Mefalsim Junction. Chanan was shot and killed there on 7 October; his companions’ bodies were found, while his was taken to Gaza.
03
In Gaza
His sister Avivit later recounted that Chanan was shot in the chest and killed before his body was taken to Gaza. She said it was kept in a sack in a shaft in a tunnel for eight months. During that time the family had no confirmed account of what had happened to him.
04
Return and burial
In a statement dated 24 May 2024, the Shin Bet and IDF said Chanan’s body had been recovered overnight in Jabaliya, Gaza. Forensic authorities and police then identified him, and military representatives notified his family during the day. He was buried at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv. His family chose to make the funeral procession a march of hope for the return of the other hostages.
05
A life remembered
Hapoel Tel Aviv remained one of Chanan’s great joys. His sister Orit spoke about his loyalty to the club, and the team’s basketball community remembered him as a devoted supporter. Chanan left two children, his parents and two sisters; his family carried his love of sport and his close friendship with Lior into the public remembrance of his life.