On the 427th day of the war in Israel, 101 Israeli hostages remain in the hands of Hamas terrorists. For their families, this situation means daily death. Others have already buried their loved ones, who were abducted on October 7, 2023. This includes Michal, who, in her mid-twenties, is already a widow. Our CSI team was able to visit her at the end of November.
By Anemone Rüger
As you enter Ashkelon, you can't help but notice the posters of Alexander Lobanov still plastered everywhere, on bulletin boards and construction fences. Alex was one of the six human shields handpicked by Hamas leader Sinwar who were found dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in one of the tunnels on September 2nd. Michal, who was married to Alex, has agreed to let a small team from Christians Standing with Israel (CSI) visit her.
“Wow,” is all Michal can manage when we hand her the enormous pink bouquet that our favorite florist in Jerusalem arranged that morning. “Wow. You can’t buy flowers like that in Ashkelon!” Michal asks each of us in turn how we’d like our coffee. She seems like a perfectly normal, nice young woman, spending her morning catching up with friends while her children are at daycare. But Michal is anything but ordinary. Very calmly and composedly, she tells us about the love of her life.
“Alex was one of the hostages who was missing the longest – for 18 days, nobody knew anything about him. He was at the Nova Festival in Re'im on October 7th. He was working at a food truck there. After the Hamas attack, he managed to escape with a few friends to the outskirts of Be'eri. There, they hid in the bushes.” But their hiding place didn't offer protection for long. Two Palestinian teenagers, between 15 and 17 years old, threw a net over Alex. Then they gave him the choice of being executed immediately or coming with them. He spent the first night in their house. Then the two Palestinian adolescents sold their trophy, Alex, to Hamas. How does Michal know all this?
“The hostages who were freed by IDF forces in June were held captive with Alex for the first three months,” Michal reports. “They talked a lot with each other. Alex always talked about his family, who meant so much to him.” Then Alex was “transferred” – as a holder of Russian citizenship, he was one of six hostages of high strategic “value” with whom Sinwar subsequently surrounded himself.
Russian roots
Alex grew up in a small Russian village. When he was eight years old, his parents emigrated with him to Israel to escape the economic chaos of the 1990s. Over time, they grew to love the country dearly. It was there that Alex met Michal, who also grew up in Israel. "But I have Russian roots too," she tells us. "My parents immigrated from St. Petersburg. So much antisemitism... they know all about it. Now they bitterly blame themselves. They love Israel. But it's hard for them that their daughter had to suffer so much."
Alex celebrated his 33rd birthday in Hamas captivity. "Tim asked about his dad every day," Michal recounts. "Our little Kai was born at the beginning of the year. And I had to be strong—for the children. The absolute worst thing is the uncertainty: that's much worse than being dead. I died every day for a year."
Even in the first weeks of anxious waiting, Michal made a special acquaintance: Jael, an employee of the pro-life organization Be'ad Chaim, which is supported by CSI. "Back then, there was a lot of media attention for our family. Alex was a very high-profile case," Michal recalls. "One day, Jael contacted me via Facebook. She simply wanted to know how I was doing—we live in the same city. At that time, I hardly wanted to talk to anyone. But I immediately felt a connection with Jael. She's become like a sister to me this past year. I don't know what I would have done without her."
It was people like Jael, and the freed hostages Alex had last seen, who supported and comforted Michal as she stood with her two young sons at Alex's grave after his murder. "Shortly after our soldiers found the bodies of the six hostages, the relatives were to come for identification. I have to say, it was good for me to see Alex one last time. It was good that it had only been two days. It was still my Alex lying there. I saw him and I was able to say goodbye. As strange as it may sound, I'm glad it's over. For the families who are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones, it's much harder. I try to support them as best I can because I know what they're going through."
Comfort and hope
The most beautiful shawl anyone had ever knitted for me as a gift was already laid out for Michal. There was also a small bag of waffle hearts from my mother. But I felt it was even more important to read her the card and say it to her—the only Russian card I had brought with me. It was difficult and took all the emotional strength I could muster, given the suffering this wonderful young woman was going through and the questions that were troubling her parents. But they went straight to Michal's heart. Hearing these words in Russian, the language of her parents and her early childhood, was something she hadn't expected.
“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham my beloved, whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth and called from its borders, to whom I said, ‘You shall be my servant; I have chosen you and will not reject you’—do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:8-10)
“I’m going to read this to my parents; they’ll cry,” says Michal, with tears in her eyes. Perhaps Michal will come to visit Germany one day. “The Black Forest – that sounds like a dream,” she says as she leaves.
Just before we leave, the doorbell rings. Two police officers in uniform. "Don't worry, they can wait on the balcony," Michal reassures us. "They're my friends." Michal plans to return to work soon. "It will be good for me to have a routine again," she says. Michal is a police officer. "The terrorists took my Alex from me. But I think I've won this battle: I've brought a new life into the world. Alex may no longer be by my side, but he has given birth to a new generation. That is our victory."
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