From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Moscow lauds emerging Gaza deal, hopes Russian-Israeli hostage Sasha Trufanov will be among those freed
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Moscow expresses hope that Russian-Israeli Sasha Trufanov will be among those freed in an emerging hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“We hope the agreement’s implementation will lead to long-term stability in Gaza, allow displaced persons to return, and facilitate reconstruction of what was destroyed during the conflict,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says in a statement.
“Additionally, we expect Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees exchanged under this accord to reunite with their families. It is our hope that Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, presently in Gaza, will be among those freed.”
Trufanov, 27, was among 251 Israelis taken hostage in Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023 massacre. He was kidnapped along with three members of his family from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother Yelena Trufanova, 50, and her mother Irena Tati, 73, were released by Hamas on November 29 at Putin’s request. His girlfriend Sapir Cohen was among 105 hostages released in a week-long truce in November.
The Kremlin says it “welcomes” the deal, but also expresses a degree of caution after Israeli accusations that Hamas is backtracking on the fragile agreement.
“Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire, an end to the suffering of the people of Gaza and increases Israel’s security can only be welcomed,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells reporters.
“But let’s wait for the finalization of the process.”
The Times of Israel Community.