An Israeli hostage said Hamas fighters moved him 10 times to protect him amid relentless Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip over a period of 11 months.
Alexander Lobanov made the claim in a video that was recorded before he was killed, and his body was found with the bodies of six other hostages and whose remains were recently recovered by the Israeli army in Gaza.
In the video released, Wednesday, by the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, Lobanov described the dire conditions he and other hostages have been facing in the last months.
“We are being held under extremely difficult conditions with basic necessities like water, food, electricity, and cleaning supplies unavailable,” he said.
“There is constant bombing all the time by the Israeli army. We are scared and can barely sleep,” he added in the video.
He noted that the al-Qassam fighters which represent the Hamas military wing moved him “approximately 10 times in order to preserve” his life.
Lobanov directly addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in the videoclip. He accused them of long abandoning the mostly Israeli hostages who now stand at around 100 people.
“You have failed and abandoned us on 7 October,” he said. “And now, you continue to fail in every attempt to free us alive.”
He openly accused Netanyahu and his government of attempting to kill the hostages to avoid negotiating with Hamas over their release.
“You are trying to kill us to avoid making any deal,” he said in a firm but desperate tone.
Lobanov urged Israelis to protest and take to the streets to demand his release and the rest of the hostages and their return from Gaza alive.
The al-Qassam Brigades released the video featuring Lobanov alongside another hostage, Carmel Gat, who was also killed in Gaza in one of the underground tunnels in Rafah.
The Israeli military announced Sunday that their bodies, along with the bodies of four other hostages, had been recovered, according to Anadolu.
The video also showed Gat, from the Be’eri settlement near Gaza, speaking about the difficult conditions she was enduring. “The bombing [by Israel] doesn’t stop, and I don’t know if I will get out of here alive,” said Gat.
She pleaded with the Israeli government and Netanyahu, saying: “Please stop abandoning us, stop this bombing, and bring us home.”
Gat also urged Israelis to continue protesting as a way to increase pressure on the government to secure their release rather than undermine it.
“Don’t abandon us and don’t let anyone shut down negotiations for our release,” he said.
The army accused Hamas of killing the hostages, while Hamas said the Israeli military killed them through direct aerial bombardment.
Israel is holding at least 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and estimates that 101 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza. Hamas has announced that dozens of the estimated 250 hostages have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli air strikes.
Since the discovery of the six captives’ bodies, there has been growing criticism in Israel, blaming Netanyahu for their deaths and urging him to move quickly to reach a deal to exchange the remaining captives.
Security officials, the opposition and the families of the captives have long accused Netanyahu of deliberatly obstructing a deal with Hamas.
But far-right ministers including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to withdraw from the government and bring it down if a deal to end the war is reached.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for months to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire deal and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since the 7 October, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 injured, according to local health authorities according to the Turkish news agency.
An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.
Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.
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