Russian citizen Andrey Kozlov has thanked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his rescue from Hamas captivity, where he spent seven months following the surprise attack on October 7 that left some 1,200 people dead and over 250 were taken hostage.
Kozlov, 27, who also holds Israeli citizenship, moved to Israel in 2022 and was kidnapped during the Hamas raid on the Nova music festival, where he worked as a security guard. On Saturday morning, the IDF launched a “high-risk, complex mission” at Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, eventually rescuing four hostages from two separate buildings.
In video footage shared online later in the day, the man is seen embracing the Israeli prime minister and thanking him for securing his release.
“Wow. Thank you, thank you!” he told Netanyahu in Russian. “What is happening?” he added in disbelief.
Kozlov has now been transferred to the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for examination. He is accompanied by his younger brother Andrey, while his father is en route to Israel from Russia, according to the Telegram channel Shot.
Kozlov told reporters he is doing fine. The IDF confirmed that three other released hostages – Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), and Shlomi Ziv (40) – are also in “good medical condition.”
The hostage rescue operation on Saturday was conducted “under heavy fire” from Hamas militants, as the IDF claimed that they were only targeting “terror infrastructure” in the area. One Israeli special forces officer was wounded during the operation and later died in the hospital.
The Gaza Government Media Office claimed that 210 Palestinians were killed in the IDF assault on Nuseirat and the surrounding area. It is unclear how many civilians were among the casualties, as the militant group which governs Gaza does not list its own casualties separately. Videos shared on social media show dead bodies, including children, strewn along the streets of Nuseirat, many of them missing limbs.
Earlier this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry called for the “immediate release” of Kozlov and two other Russian hostages, Alexander Lobanov and Alexander Trufanov. Last month, Trufanov appeared in a video released by the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad, in which he called on Israelis taking part in rallies demanding that Netanyahu facilitate the release of the hostages to show “patience,” promising to reveal the “truth” about what happened to him and dozens of other captives who are being held in Gaza.
Following the release of Kozlov, the Russian ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, issued a statement saying that “the issue of the release of hostages” remains one of the main priorities. Viktorov congratulated “the now former hostages” on their safe rescue and reunification with their families, and urged international organizations to help bring the remaining captives home.
“I would like to stress separately that no further escalation, but only an early cessation of hostilities adequately responds to the solution of all urgent humanitarian problems, including the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza,” the diplomat added.