U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov, 38, an Israeli born to Russian parents who was taken from Baghdad two years ago, has 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.
He also called on Hamas to release the 50 hostages, both alive and dead, who have been held in captivity in Gaza since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 others in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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 Ph.D. dissertation.
She is believed to have been tortured for months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed shortly after midnight in the Jewish state that Tsurkov had been released.
Through “great efforts” headed by IDF Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the captives and missing, “which lasted many long months,” Jerusalem secured her release, Netanyahu continued.
“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,” the premier said.
The Jewish state “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.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog likewise expressed joy over Tsurkov’s release, writing on X that “the end of the nightmare she went through and her return to freedom is great news.
“I thank everyone involved in the work to secure Elizabeth’s release, and all those who fought for her both around the world and here in Israel. A special thanks to all partners, and especially to U.S. President Donald Trump for his commitment to her release,” said the head of state.
“May we soon hear good news also about the 48 hostages who are still being cruelly held in the hell of captivity in Gaza,” Herzog concluded.
