U.S. citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen will be one of the three hostages to be released to Israel by Hamas, Israeli authorities said Friday. The other two hostages also hold dual citizenships: Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov is also Russian while Yair Horn is Argentine. Dekel-Chen is 36 and a father of three. One of his daughters was born while in captivity.
Both Horn and Dekel-Chen were abducted during Hamas' raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz during October 7, 2023. The community was one of the hardest hit by what was the largest terrorist attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, as Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) took seven hours to get there. A senior army officer even told local outlet Haaretz that "Nir Oz was forgotten."
