Hamas official on Russian-Israeli hostages: Maxim Herkin to be prioritized in 2nd stage of deal, Sasha Trufanov to be released soon

Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk says that Maxim Herkin, kidnapped by Gazan terrorists from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, will be released as a priority in the second stage of the deal.

He also tells Russian outlet Sputnik that hostage Sasha Trufanov, a dual Russian-Israeli national, will be released imminently.

“One of them, Trufanov, will definitely be released in the near future. He will be released despite the fact that he is a serviceperson, but it was decided to release him at the first stage of the deal,” the Hamas official says. Trufanov is a civilian and was abducted from his home, but Hamas classifies all male hostages under 50 as members of the military.

“This is our response to Russia’s position on the Palestinian issue,” the Hamas official says.

Trufanov, 28, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, alongside his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, while his father was murdered. The rest of his family was released in November 2023. He is on the list of the first 33 hostages to be released in the ongoing first stage of the hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Herkin has a 3-year-old daughter and is the primary provider for his mother and 11-year-old brother.

He went to the Nova festival almost by chance, invited by friends at the last minute. It was the first time he had gone to a trance rave.