Russian Israeli Nationals Freed From Hamas, Blinken To Encourage Truce Extension
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet security agency revealed on Wednesday that Russian nationals Lena Trupanov and her mother Irena Tatti have been released to the Red Cross from Hamas captivity and are now in Israeli territory.
The IDF, in its statement, announced that Israeli special forces and Shin Bet personnel brought the two women to an initial medical examination and “will continue to accompany them to hospitals where they will be reunited with their families.”
Trupanov and Tatti, who hold both Russian and Israeli citizenship, were not released as part of Wednesday’s detainee exchange deal, which will see the release by Hamas of 10 Israelis in exchange for 30 female Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas said the release of the two women was a “gesture” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes on the sixth and final day of the currently agreed-upon length of the humanitarian pause in Gaza.
As the release of the next tranche of Israeli hostages continues to progress into Wednesday night, negotiations to extend the truce beyond Wednesday are ongoing, with Hamas officials saying they are prepared to extend the pause by an additional four days.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in the region tomorrow in a bid to encourage an extension of the truce.
Blinken is to hold meetings with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank to discuss the PA’s role in de-escalating the conflict and what a post-Hamas governance of the Gaza Strip will look like.
As of the publication of this article, the release of the 10 additional Israeli hostages to Israeli territory is underway.
