Katie Couric Instagram – Hamas has released three more Israeli hostages – U.S. national Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov – in the latest ceasefire exchange. In return, Israel freed 369 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were arrested in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, terror attack.
Dekel-Chen, Horn, and Troufanov were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the attack.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, a dual American-Israeli citizen and former player for Israel’s national basketball team, was taken from his home, leaving behind his seven-months pregnant wife, Vital, and their two daughters, who hid in a safe room. Today, he learned the name of his third daughter, Shachar Mazal. Dekel-Chen worked as a national coordinator for the British branch of the Jewish National Fund and, alongside his wife, repurposed buses into mobile classrooms.
Iair Horn, 46, a dual Argentine-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped along with his brother, Eitan, 37, who had been visiting for the weekend. Born in Israel and raised in Argentina, Horn returned as an adult and became part of Nir Oz’s large Argentine community. He worked in construction, while his brother was a teacher. Eitan remains is captivity and is not on the list of hostages expected to be released in the ceasefire’s first stage.
Sasha Troufanov, 29, a Russian-Israeli citizen, was visiting family in Nir Oz on October 7. His father was killed in the attack, while his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend were taken hostage and later freed during a November 2023 ceasefire. Troufanov lived with his girlfriend in a Tel Aviv suburb and worked at a company owned by Amazon.
📷: Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Getty | Posted on 15/Feb/2025 19:20:29
