Gaza Militants Release Video of Israeli Russian Hostage

A militant group in Gaza released a video on Wednesday showing Sasha Troufanov, an Israeli Russian dual citizen who has been held hostage since the Hamas-led attack on Israel 13 months ago.

It was the first video of Mr. Troufanov since Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza after Hamas, released two videos of him in May. It was not clear when the video was filmed, but in it he refers to having been held in Gaza for a year. He also says he is 28, an indication that it was shot before Nov. 11, his 29th birthday.

The release of the video brought some renewed attention to the plight of the dozens of hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza, who have endured more than a year of war in captivity.

In the video, Mr. Troufanov appears weary, with an untrimmed beard and bags under his eyes. He speaks of a lack of food and water.

His mother, Lena Troufanov, responded to the video with alarm.

“I am relieved to see my son alive, but I am very worried to hear what he is saying,” she said in a statement shared by an Israeli hostage families support group. “I urge that every effort be made to secure his immediate release and that of all other hostages. They have no time left.”

Rights groups and international law experts say that a hostage video is, by definition, made under duress, and that the statements in it are usually coerced. Israeli officials have called the videos of hostages periodically released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad during the war as a form of “psychological warfare,” and experts say their production can constitute a war crime.

Last month, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, told Russia Today that Hamas would give “priority” to Mr. Troufanov’s release in any exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, “in honor” of President Vladimir Putin of Russia. He said Hamas had spoken to Islamic Jihad about Mr. Troufanov.

During the Hamas-led attack in October 2023 that set off the war in Gaza, Mr. Troufanov, his mother, his grandmother, and his girlfriend were taken captive and his father was killed. The three women were released weeks later during a short-lived cease-fire.

Last week, Sapir Cohen, Mr. Troufanov’s girlfriend, urged President-elect Donald J. Trump to help secure the release of those still held captive in Gaza. “I’m begging you, ensure that rescuing these hostages remains a top priority,” Ms. Cohen said.

Talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages have been deadlocked for months, with Israel and Hamas staking out irreconcilable positions. Any substantial progress on a cease-fire will most likely be delayed until after Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January, analysts said.

Hamas has long insisted on a permanent end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before releasing any more hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas’s destruction in Gaza, and has suggested Israeli forces would have to remain in parts of the enclave during any cease-fire.

Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly changed his conditions for a deal, and his critics in Israel have accused him of prioritizing his political survival over freeing the hostages. Allies in his hard-line governing coalition have called for indefinite Israeli rule in Gaza, and have opposed truce proposals that would have ended the military offensive against Hamas.