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.
Gaza captivity survivors Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen, who were in a relationship prior to their abduction, have announced their engagement on Wednesday.
The couple was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th while they were visiting Troufanov’s family there.
Troufanov’s father, Vitaly, was murdered, while he 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 the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov speaks on stage in Tel Aviv. March 18, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
The couple also traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin following his release.
Cohen says Troufanov believed he would not return aliveAt Sheba Medical Center, following his February 15 release from captivity, now-fiancé Sapir Cohen told Israeli media, “He prayed I’d find another man, thinking he’d never return. But I waited.”