Three hostages to be freed Saturday were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz; all have dual citizenships

All three hostages set for release tomorrow were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents on October 7, 2023.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, who has dual Israeli-American citizenship, saw Hamas-led terrorists entering the kibbutz and was among the first to raise the alarm. He was last heard from at 9:30 a.m., according to his father, Connecticut-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a Hebrew University professor who also lives at Nir Oz. Sagui’s mother, Neomit, was taken captive along with her neighbors in an electric cart that was headed toward Gaza when an IDF helicopter shot at the terrorists and driver. Neomit, injured, made her way back toward the kibbutz and was eventually rescued and evacuated.

His wife Avital gave birth to their third daughter Shachar in December 2023, and he is therefore set to meet her tomorrow for the first time.

Sasha Troufanov, who has dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with three members of his family — grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen. Sasha’s father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed in the Hamas-led massacre. Yelena and Irena were released by Hamas on November 29, 2023, at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sapir Cohen was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a week-long truce.

Iair Horn, who has dual Israeli-Argentinean citizenship, was abducted from his Nir Oz home on October 7. His brother Eitan was also abducted, is still being held, and is not on the list of the 33 hostages scheduled to be freed in the current first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal.