Islamic Jihad, a group allied to Hamas, published on Wednesday a new video of one of the Israelis taken hostage on October 7, 2023 during the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group in Israel.
The video shows a young bearded man identifying himself as Sasha Trupanov. Speaking in Hebrew, he referred to the Israeli military offensive in Lebanon launched in the second half of September and the Israeli air raids against Iran at the end of October. He calls on Israelis to step up protests aimed at putting pressure on the government to release hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip.
This is the third video released by Islamic Jihad of Sacha Trupanov, a 29-year-old Russian-Israeli, kidnapped with his partner Sapir Cohen, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where the couple was visiting the young man’s family. Sapir Cohen, along with Sasha Trupanov’s mother and grandmother, were released during the only truce in the war triggered by the Hamas attack. Father Vitali Trupanov, the hostage’s father, was killed on October 7.
Qatar mediation halted
Its broadcast comes a few days after Qatar announced it was ceasing its mediation between the Israeli authorities and Hamas, with a view to obtaining a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages.
Our file on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
This “horrible video […] underlines the urgency of the return of […] hostages”, who “have no more time to waste”, after the ordeals they have endured, declared the Families Forum, the main association of relatives of hostages. They “face an increased risk of losing their lives after more than a year of detention.”
His mother “relieved”, but “very worried”
“I am relieved to see my son alive, but I am very worried to hear what he is saying. I urge that all efforts be made to obtain his immediate release and that of all other hostages,” said his mother, Yelena Trupanov, quoted in the press release.
During the unprecedented attack by Hamas commandos on October 7, 2023, 251 people were kidnapped on Israeli soil. 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.
