Survivor: Russian Trufanov spent 498 days in captivity in Gaza

Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, held hostage in the Gaza Strip, was granted his freedom on February 15. He was captured by the Palestinian movement "Islamic Jihad" on October 7, 2023. Along with Alexander, two other Israeli hostages were released. At the same time, Trump demanded the recovery of nine live captives, whose names appeared as part of the exchange formula of the first stage of the deal. The release of the Russian citizen comes amid a complicating negotiating atmosphere as the second phase of the agreement approaches.

A Russian citizen has been released from captivity

Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov spent 498 days in captivity. On February 15, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement freed him. Upon Alexander's return to the Reim military base in Israel, he was told of his father's death on the first day of a Hamas attack on Israeli territory.

"My name is Sasha Trufanov. Today after 498 days in captivity we will be released. We are happy, but we do not forget the remaining hostages. I believe in the Israeli people and their leadership," Alexander said during his handover to the Red Cross staff.

Alexander, his mother Elena Trufanova, grandmother Irina Tatti and fiancée Safir Cohen were captured on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. His father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed that day during a Hamas attack. In all, the militants took more than 250 hostages to Gaza. In late November 2023, Elena, Irina and Safir were released as part of the first truce deal. Alexander has remained in captivity until now. Alexander's mother previously told Izvestia that her family came to Israel from Rostov-on-Don in 1999.

Hamas deputy politburo chief Musa Abu Marzouk said in an interview with Izvestia earlier that the movement favors requests from the Russian side.

"We did not release any of the men held in November 2023, except for one Russian, out of respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his position on the Palestinian issue," Hamas said at the time.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia was grateful to the Palestinian side, as well as to its Qatari and Egyptian partners, for helping to rescue Trufanov.

The first phase of the deal was in jeopardy

Hamas had originally planned to postpone the release of the prisoners because Israel, according to the Palestinian side, was not fulfilling the humanitarian obligations spelled out in the agreement. In particular, it concerns the delivery of food and medical supplies. The Israeli side rejected these accusations.

Additional pressure on the process was exerted by statements from Washington. US President Donald Trump called on Israel to reconsider the truce agreement if all hostages from the first deal are not released by Saturday, and threatened serious consequences if his demands are not met.

Trump's statement that all hostages must be released by Saturday noon drew mixed reactions within the Israeli leadership. Despite public support from the government, the details of Israel's demands remained unclear.

Israeli officials have expressed conflicting views on the number of hostages the country is demanding be released on Feb. 15. Local media reported that Israel's military cabinet "unanimously" supported Trump's demand for the hostages' release.

At the time, 17 hostages remained to be released as part of the first phase of the truce. Nine of them are alive. Although the deal originally called for the release of only three living hostages. This nuance added to the complexity of the negotiations, as it was unclear whether Hamas would agree to Israel's demand and how exactly the terms of a further exchange would be interpreted. In addition, it remained unclear whether Israel sought the release of all prisoners in the coming days or was prepared to limit itself to a previously established number.

Nevertheless, Hamas released only three hostages. In the sixth round of the deal, in addition to Alexander, Israelis Sagi Dekel-Hen and Yair Horen were released.

In total, the Palestinian movement has already released 16 Israelis and five Thai nationals since the agreement, the latter not as part of the swap formula.

Israel, for its part, is due to release 369 Palestinians from prisons on Saturday. Among them are 36 sentenced to life imprisonment. In total, the first phase assumes that Israel will release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase of the Gaza agreement

The fate of the second phase of the deal, on which the release of the remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops depends, remains uncertain. Negotiations to discuss this phase are already underway.

- "Within the framework of the second phase of the deal, the opposing sides may make painful concessions, but this will provide an opportunity to create new conditions for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories," Palestinian security expert Mohammed Al-Masri told Izvestia.

The second deal also includes the release of Maxim Harkin, a Donetsk native held captive in the Gaza Strip. He was not on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office earlier told Izvestia that the Jewish state authorities had no information about Maxim's condition and whether he would be released in the subsequent stages of the deal.

Against this background, the Israeli delegation is preparing for a visit to Doha to discuss further steps. According to Ynet, the meeting will take place on Saturday, but the delegation will not include Mossad head David Barnea, who is overseeing the high-level talks. Israeli authorities have not yet confirmed this information. At the same time, local publication Haaretz previously reported that the Israeli negotiating team in Doha has no mandate to make decisions. Representatives of the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, actually make it clear that they do not intend to move to the second phase of the deal, the newspaper said.

Hamas, however, emphasizes in its statements that further release of the hostages is possible only with full compliance with the terms of the truce. The group's representatives said they insist on the fulfillment of the humanitarian protocol and count on the guarantees of the mediators.

Within the framework of the next stage of the deal, the interests of Hamas' military wing may be ignored, so the movement will delay its realization in order to show itself as a still important player, Andrei Baklanov, deputy chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats and professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, tells Izvestia.

Further developments will depend on whether the parties manage to come to a compromise, avoid new delays and continue the exchange process without further disruptions.

A temporary alternative between the first phase (release of 33 hostages) and the second phase (release of the rest and a complete ceasefire) could be the introduction of an interim phase. According to a senior Israeli Al-Monitor source, such a measure could alleviate the situation before the start of Ramadan, which is traditionally considered a tense period.

Under this phase, Hamas could continue to release Israeli hostages, and Israel would respond by speeding up the release of Palestinian prisoners, including those serving long sentences. Humanitarian support for Gaza could also be expanded.