Israel sent a "response" through mediators to Hamas after Islamic Jihad released a 30-second video of hostage Alex (Sasha) Trufanov from captivity in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening and now is, as it frequently happens, waiting for an answer from the terrorist organization.
The prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed al-Thani, is expected to present Israel's response to the proposed hostage deal and cease-fire to Hamas. The mediators, it is expected in Jerusalem, are supposed to exert heavy pressure on the terrorist organization. "Without the consent of Hamas, there is no deal," Israeli sources say.
In Israel, experts believe that the video released by Islamic Jihad, in which Israeli hostage Alex (Sasha) Trufanov appears, has "no meaning."
"This is psychological warfare, and it serves no purpose in shedding new light on his fate. It only embarrasses Russia," which hosted the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad several times in the last few months, according to a source. Russia reportedly received promises from the two terrorist organizations to advance the release of Trufanov, who immigrated to Israel from Russia 25 years ago and who has been held captive in the Gaza Strip for 235 days.
Yelena Trufanov, Sasha's mother, said on Tuesday evening of the video released by Islamic Jihad hours that “to see him today on television is very happy, but also heartbreaking because he is still in captivity. I call on all decision-makers, please do everything to bring him and all the hostages home now.”
His grandmother, Irena Tati, added: "I'm very glad to see you, my Sun. I have hope that I will see you."
"We are waiting for you to come back to us already, and we are making all possible efforts for this to happen soon," said his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen.
The three women were kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 together with Sasha, and in the hostage deal at the end of November, after 54 days in captivity. Sasha's father, Vitaly was murdered during the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.
Part of the video filmed of Trufanov in captivity has been publicly released with the permission of his family:
Sasha (Alex) Trufanov speaks from captivity in Gaza
On Monday, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said at a conference of the Misgav Institute for National Security and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) that "the proposals that Israel presented to release the hostages are generous. Hamas is currently demanding something else - it is demanding that we actually surrender. On the other hand, time does not work in favor of the hostages and there is a priority to locate them, even if it comes at a cost."
"We still believe that it is possible to achieve both goals at the same time - the return of hostages and not giving up and subduing Hamas," Hanegbi said. He also warned that: "If we stop now, I don't know if we will regain both motivation and legitimacy, so the next massacre is only a matter of time. Israel must be different from what it was until October 7. The issue of the hostages is sacred and I hope we can rescue them."