Hamas: Hostages Alexander Sasha Troufanov and Maxim Herkin to be given priority for release
Hamas senior leader Mousa Abu Marzook said that this gesture was due to Russia's stance on the Palestinian issue.


Senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook gave an interview today (Monday) for Russian TV, where he said that hostages with Russian citizenship would be given priority for release due to Russia's stance on the Palestinian issue.
Marzook said that Alexander Sasha Troufanov would be released in the first phase of the hostage deal, despite his being a soldier - the first phase is supposed to only include women civilians and soldiers or men above military age or sick - due to Russia's stance on the Palestinian issue.
Regarding Maxim Herkin, a resident of the Donbass, part of Russia-occupied Ukraine, Marzook said that his release will be determined during the second phase of the hostage deal but that Hamas would prioritize his release.
Kann News reporter Gili Cohen said that Russia is putting pressure to release Herkin already in the first phase of the deal, even though he does not fall under the deal's category of "humanitarian" cases of women or those who are ill.
Some 79 hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza, 35 of whom have been declared dead by the IDF. 20 hostages remain to be released in the first phase of the deal, 8 of whom are dead according to a list provided to Israel by Hamas.
While negotiations over the second phase of the deal are set to take place soon, opinions are divided on whether Israel wishes to go through with them, as the second phase and especially the third phase require that the IDF ultimately entirely evacuate the Gaza Strip and declare a permanent end to the war.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that he stayed in the government specifically to ensure that the IDF restart the war once the first phase of the deal is over, and even Likud Minister Chikli said that if the IDF withdraws from the Philadelphi Corridor, he would resign from the government.
Itamar Ben Gvir's party resigned previously over the government's decision to approve the deal, at least in its first phase.
However, President Trump and his administration are reportedly not keen on the deal not being completed, in part due to their playing a key role in securing it before Trump's inauguration.