Elizabeth Tsurkov was released from Ramat Gan’s Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer on Monday, five days after the Israeli-Russian graduate student was freed from two years in Kata’ib Hezbollah captivity in Iraq.
Tsurkov was hospitalized for about five days in the hospital’s isolated unit for released hostages, where she underwent a series of tests and met with her family members, Israel Hayom reported. She also met there with IDF Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostages coordinator.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with Tsurkov and her brother David, his office stated after her release last week.
Tsurkov was said to have expressed gratitude to Netanyahu and all those who worked for her release, describing harsh conditions she endured in captivity and expressing hope for the return of all remaining hostages in Gaza.
According to the readout, Netanyahu welcomed Tsurkov home, wishing her a full recovery, and emphasized that “great efforts were invested over a long period” to secure her safe return to the Jewish state.
The premier highlighted the assistance of numerous actors, particularly U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Adam Boehler, the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, as well as Hirsch.
Photos and video released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday night showed Tsurkov’s emotional reunion with her family and friends.
Trump announced on Sept. 9 that Tsurkov, 38, an Israeli born to Russian parents who was kidnapped from Baghdad two years ago, had been freed.
“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton student, whose sister is an American citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah” and is now “safely in the American embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Tsurkov, who is Jewish, was kidnapped by the Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah (“The Battalions of the Party of God”) in early 2023 while studying in Baghdad for her doctoral dissertation.
Her release had been secured through “great efforts” led by Hirsch, “which lasted many long months,” said Netanyahu.
“This evening, I spoke with Emma and Avital, her sisters and during the emotional conversation I told them that all of Israel is happy to see her back home,” he stated in his first response to her release.
Israel “will continue to fight with strength and determination until we bring all of our hostages back home, both the living and those who have fallen,” he added.
