Israel's ambassador to Moscow, Simona Halperin, revealed Thursday in an interview with the Russian news website RBC that Israel and Russia are working together to release three Russia-connected hostages being held in the Gaza Strip who are not included in Phase 1 of the deal.
She noted that one of them is the kidnapped Maxim Herkin, a 36-year-old native of the Donbas region from Tirat Carmel, who does not hold Russian citizenship, but his daughter was born and lives in the Russia. After Herkin was kidnapped, his mother also received Russian citizenship. The names of the two other kidnapped people whom Moscow and Jerusalem, according to the ambassador, are working to free were not disclosed.
"We really hope that the Russian side can help with this. I truly believe that if the Russian side demands it persistently enough, it will be able to facilitate the release of these three hostages," Halperin emphasized.
The ambassador noted that Sasha Trupanov, a Russian national whose name is included in Phase 1 of the deal, is expected to be released at this stage, not thanks to Russian efforts, but due to the fact that he was injured during his kidnapping on October 7.
Since the morning of the massacre, several videos and signs of life have been received from Trupanov -who is being held by Islamic Jihad, the last of which was in November. According to the ambassador, his inclusion in the humanitarian deal was discussed at the beginning of the negotiations with Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
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Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to "work for the release of Trupanov," who was kidnapped by gunmen along with his grandmother, mother, and partner - all three of whom were released in the hostage deal in November 2023.
Meanwhile, Hamas is expected to publish on Friday the list of the four female hostages who will be released on Saturday as part of the deal. Among those to be released, Israel expects to see civilian Arbel Yehoud and three female observers.