Russian President Vladimir Putin met with an Israeli-Russian family who were held captive in the Gaza Strip. The family, led by Alexander Trufanov, his mother Yelena and his fiancée Sapir Cohen, were welcomed at the Kremlin late on Wednesday evening. The family moved to Israel in the 1990s, but on October 7, 2023, Hamas abducted Alexander, Yelena, Sapir and Trufanov’s grandmother Irena Tati from their home in the Kibbutz Nir Oz. Trufanov’s father, Witali, was killed during the attack. The women of the family were released during the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in November 2023. Trufanov spent 498 days in captivity before leaving the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire in February 2025. During the meeting with Trufanov, Putin did not give a political assessment of the situation in the Middle East, but emphasized that what happened to the family was a great misfortune. He also highlighted that the release of Trufanov was possible due to the long-standing and stable relations between Russia and the Palestinian people. Putin thanked Hamas for the “humanitarian act” of releasing the family. Just before Trufanov’s release in February, Hamas declared that this was a sign of respect for Russia’s stance in favor of a fair solution to the Middle East conflict. Trufanov urged Putin to continue his efforts to free other Israeli hostages: “I know that you have done a lot so that they too can be free and happy, like I am today, with my family. It means a lot to me.” Putin promised that Russia would do everything in its power to free more hostages. According to reports from the news agency AP, at least 59 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip and Israeli authorities believe that less than half of the hostages are still alive.
A Surprising Meeting in the Kremlin
