Sister Reveals Hamas Executed Kidnapped Israeli Soldier Hanan Yablonka in Gaza Hospital

Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Avivit Yablonka Abadi, sister of Israeli soldier Hanan Yablonka, has for the first time detailed the harrowing ordeal her brother endured after being kidnapped. According to her interview with the British Daily Mail, Hanan was wounded by gunfire from militants while checking on a flipped vehicle during a party escape. He was then taken to a hospital in Gaza where, as he was dying, Hamas militants executed him by shooting him three times in the head.

Avivit described how Hanan’s body was concealed inside a Hamas tunnel wall in the Jabalia refugee camp. His remains were only recovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a special operation in northern Gaza on May 24, 2024, alongside the bodies of soldiers Michel Nissenbaum and Orion Hernandez. She called the recovery a miracle, noting the militants had hidden the bodies within tunnel walls that could have been destroyed without discovery.

For months, Hanan was officially listed as missing, with the family only learning after about 12 weeks that he had been kidnapped to Gaza. It took several more months before they were informed of his death. Avivit expressed her ongoing disbelief and grief, recalling Hanan as her younger brother and best friend. She also revealed that the family was unaware he had decided at the last moment to attend the Nova party where he was captured.

This testimony sheds new light on the fate of kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Gaza and the brutal treatment they suffered. The IDF’s recovery operation in May 2024 was a rare success in retrieving fallen soldiers’ remains from Hamas-controlled territory.