Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Argentine Israeli, was kidnapped from his home in kibbutz Nir Oz along with his brother Eitan Horn, who is still in captivity. Another victim, Sasha Alexander Troufanov, a 29-year-old Russian Israeli, was also abducted with his family in the same location. Troufanov’s father was murdered during their captivity, but his female relatives were released last November. Troufanov is expected to be freed separately by the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad group, according to recent announcements by Hamas.
Hamas initially declared an indefinite postponement of hostage-prisoner swaps due to Israeli violations of a truce, but later reversed the decision after discussions with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. As part of a deal that was set to last 42 days, Hamas has already released 16 of the 33 hostages in the first phase of the agreement.
The conflict between Hamas and Israeli forces escalated following a terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 casualties and 251 people being captured. The subsequent military offensive in Gaza has led to the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, as reported by local health officials, and forced the displacement of a majority of the population in the region, which numbers around 2.3 million.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
