12-07-2025
Gaza hostage survivors Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen announce engagement
In the months leading up to their engagement, the couple reunited after Troufanov was released from captivity after 498 days held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Freed Gaza hostages Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen, who were in a relationship prior to their abduction, announced their engagement on Wednesday.
The couple was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 while they were visiting Troufanov's family. Troufanov's father, Vitaly, was murdered, while Sasha was kidnapped alongside his mother, Yelena, Cohen, and his grandmother, Irena Tati.
The three women were released during the November 2023 ceasefire, after 54-55 days of war. Russian President Vladimir Putin is largely credited with intervening for their return due to the family's dual Russian-Israeli citizenship.
In the months leading up to their engagement, the couple reunited after Troufanov was released from captivity after 498 days held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The couple also traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin following his release.
At Sheba Medical Center, following Troufanov's February 15 release from captivity, now-fiancée Sapir Cohen told local media, 'He prayed I'd find another man, thinking he'd never return. But I waited.'
