Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli graduate student at Princeton University, has been freed after more than two years of Hezbollah captivity. While doing research in Iraq in March 2023, Turkov was kidnapped by the Iranian-backed Kataeb Hezbollah (a separate faction from the Hezbollah based in Lebanon), a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Aside from a single video released of Tsurkov in November 2023, her family had received no signs of life. Tsurkov, who is believed to have entered Iraq on her Russian passport, was studying Middle Eastern sectarianism.
Emma Tsurkov, her American sister, wrote on social media, “My entire family is incredibly happy. We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days,” and thanked President Trump and Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler. It is not clear what, if anything, Kataeb Hezbollah was offered during the negotiations that freed her.
In his statement announcing her release, Trump said Tsurkov had been tortured; video of the researcher reuniting with her family at Sheba Medical Center showed her struggling to walk and leaning on others.
Tsurkov was released to Israel, where she received medical care similar to the rehabilitation offered to Hamas hostages, and was reunited with her family.
Tsurkov’s mother Irina told Israeli radio, “It’s crazy joy, happiness. I’ve waited for this moment for almost two and a half years,” adding she “hopes all the families of our hostages get the same news.”