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Islamic Jihad releases new footage of Israeli captive

Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group releases third psychological warfare video featuring 29-year-old captive Alexander Sasha Trufanov.

By World Israel News Staff

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group has released a new video featuring hostage Alexander Sasha Trufanov, marking the third such clip of him since his abduction.

The timing of the video’s recording remains unclear, though Trufanov identifies himself as 28 years old in the footage.

Notably, the release comes just two days after Trufanov turned 29, having now spent two birthdays in captivity.

Trufanov, an engineer at Annapurna Labs, an Israeli microelectronics firm owned by Amazon, was taken hostage alongside three family members — his grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) Trufanova, and girlfriend Sapir Cohen — during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Trufanov’s father was murdered during the invasion.

While Tati and Trufanova were released on November 29th as a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Cohen was freed the next day during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Trufanov remains in captivity.

The video’s release highlights what Israeli authorities describe as psychological warfare, a tactic frequently employed by terror groups.

Before his abduction, Trufanov had recently moved with Cohen to an apartment in Ramat Gan, leaving his friends unaware he was visiting family in the Gaza border community at the time of the massacre.

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Hamas politburo deputy chief Mousa Abu Marzouk has previously indicated that Trufanov and another hostage with Russian citizenship, Maxim Herkin, would be prioritized for release in a future deal, though no concrete timeline has been provided.

Following the release of the video Wednesday, Trufanov’s mother, Yelena, said she was “relieved” to see her son alive, while lamenting that she is “very worried to hear what he is saying,” referring to his comments on the lack of food and his anxiety during airstrikes.

“I urge that every effort be made to secure his immediate release and that of all other hostages. They have no time left.”