The Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad on Friday (Nov. 15) released a new excerpt of a video by Israeli comedian Sasha Trufanov, two days after releasing other footage.
In the excerpt, the young man, who was identified by his relatives on Wednesday, appeals to Ariel Deri, the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party that is part of the ruling coalition, to help secure his release and that of other hostages still being held in Gaza.
It is not clear whether these are two clips from the same video or two separate videos that may have been shot on different dates.
This is the fourth video excerpt released by Islamic Jihad of Sasha Trufanov, a 29-year-old Russian-Israeli man who was taken with his partner Shapir Cohen to kibbutz Nir Oz, where the couple was visiting the young man’s family.
Cohen, as well as Troufanov’s mother and grandmother, were released during the only ceasefire in the war, which broke out with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The hostage’s father, Vitaly Troufanov, was killed the same day.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called this morning, before the video was released, for “the immediate and unconditional release of the civilians who remain in the custody of Palestinian organizations, with priority given to our compatriots A. Trufanov and M. Herkin.”
Maxim Herkin, a 35-year-old Israeli-Russian, was kidnapped during the Nova music festival.
In total 251 people were kidnapped by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Of those 97 are still being held hostage in Gaza, but 34 of them have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
