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Who is Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, the Russian-Israeli to be released on Saturday?

Ukrainian-Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov was 27 when he was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and now, after spending two birthdays in captivity, is expected to be released in the upcoming hostage-ceasefire deal.

He was abducted along with his parents, his grandmother, and his partner, Sapir Cohen. Troufanov’s father was murdered in captivity, while his partner and female relatives were released in the November deal. 

The 29-year-old’s childhood best friend told Haaretz that Troufanov was still unaware his father was killed.

“I can’t believe that you’re a hostage, and you have no idea that your father is dead. If you’re not here now, then I will give your father all the honor that I can for you. I will fill the void,” he said.

Sapir told the Italian newspaper Libero Quotidiano she witnessed Troufanov  “beaten bloody and thrown face-first into the ground” by terrorists. 

 PIJ releases a sign-of-life video of Gaza hostage Alexandre Alexander Troufanov, November 13, 2024. (credit: Screenshots from Telegram)
PIJ releases a sign-of-life video of Gaza hostage Alexandre Alexander Troufanov, November 13, 2024. (credit: Screenshots from Telegram)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an affiliate of the Hamas terror group, is currently holding Trufanov and has released four videos of him. In November 2024, they released a proof-of-life video showing him calling for a hostage deal and describing the lack of resources made available to him.

The family requested the fourth video not be made public, but after the publication of the third video, Troufanov’s mother said, “I am relieved to see my son alive, but I am very worried to hear what he is saying. I urge that every effort be made to secure his immediate release and that of all other hostages. They have no time left.”

Once released, Troufanov’s family secured him Russian citizenship – and with it, the support of Hamas-ally Russia. 

Russian citizenship

Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, previously said that in a potential future hostage deal, they would prioritize the release of Russian nationals.

Troufanov’s childhood best friend Ben Hasenson left Holland for Israel and enlisted as a reservist after learning the news, he told Haaretz.


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“I was clueless at first. I thought I was flying to Israel for two weeks and that by the time I got back to Holland, Sasha would be home…I wanted to do all I could to bring him home,” he said.

Before being kidnapped, Troufanov was working in the Annapurna Labs division of Amazon – a company that has faced frequent criticism for failing to condemn the abduction of its employee.

The Jewish Affinity group of Amazon employees outside of Israel told Globes the company warned them not to place posters or express any identification with their abducted coworker.

“There was an initiative to hang posters stating how long Troufanov worked at Amazon versus how many days he had been held hostage, but the instruction was not to display them,” one of the employees who is a member of the group said. 

JPost

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