The family of Alexander Lobanov, who was kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 and murdered in a Rafah tunnel, has approved the publication of a Hamas video featuring him, and the video was aired Saturday.
Lobanov was one of the six hostages who were executed by Hamas and whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by the IDF.
The video is part of Hamas' campaign of psychological terrorism. In it, Alex speaks about the harsh conditions of his captivity, turning to his family and asking that they remain "strong and united."
Arutz Sheva-Israel National News does not cooperate with the murderous organization's psychological terrorism and will not publish the footage.
"Good evening everyone," the video begins. "My name is Lobanov Alexander, age 32 from Ashkelon. On October 7, I was kidnapped from the party in the parking lot of Re'im, while I was working. We are being held in very very harsh conditions. There are no basic things like water, food, electricity, hygiene. There are constant airstrikes. We are terrified, we barely manage to sleep. They have moved me to about ten different places in order to protect my life."
"I turn to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government: You have failed, you abandoned us on October 7, and now you continue to fail in every attempt to release us alive. You are only trying to kill us in order to not have to make any deal. And here, I ask help from my friends, from the nation of Israel: I left a pregnant wife at home, and child of two years old, and a pair of elderly parents. Help them scream my cry. Go out to the streets. Protest. Do everything so that we will get out of here alive. But I just want to remind you: In the Shalit deal, over 1,000 terrorists were freed. My family: Michal, Tom, Mom, Dad, Anton, stay strong and united. I am doing well, I miss you and love you very much."
Alex's widow, Michal, responded to the video's publication, saying, "Alex and all of the six hostages suffered a Holocaust. This is what a Holocaust looks like. I will not forget, and I will not forgive."
The Hostages Families Forum responded: "This horrific video further demonstrates Hamas's cruelty. Alex and five other hostages managed to survive in nightmarish conditions for over 10 months before being brutally executed. Recently released footage from their underground prison offered only a glimpse of the unimaginable horrors they endured in captivity. Time is running out for the remaining 101 hostages. A deal must be struck immediately to save them."
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas ordered those terrorists holding hostages to take frequent photos and videos, and the raw material is kept in a large archive to be shared by teams outside Gaza for the purpose of applying pressure on Israel and attacking Netanyahu.
Production of hostages videos can be considered a war crime under international law.
Arab intermediaries told WSJ that Qatar and Egypt have tried to stop Hamas from releasing any videos of children who were taken as hostages.
Released hostages told WSJ that the text of the videos was "scripted" and that the video-taking began during the early days of the war.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli hostage negotiator who helped broker a previous prisoner exchange with Hamas in 2011, told WSJ, "Hamas wants this war to end, and this is how they think that pressure can be put on Netanyahu."
"I think that they have an enormous impact on Israeli society, and that’s what they’re aiming to do," he added, referring to both Hamas and its videos.