Sapir Cohen, 26, from Kiryat Ata, was abducted together with her boyfriend, Alex (Sasha) Tropanov (28), and his family from the family home in Nir Oz. Sapir and Sasha moved in together in central Israel about a month before the abduction. On Black Saturday, they came to Nir Oz to visit Sasha's family.
When the attack began, the Kollel family hid together, but the terrorists broke in. They murdered the father of the family Vitaly and kidnapped Sapir, Sasha, his mother Yelena Trofanov (50) and his grandmother Irena Tati (77). The latter two were released from captivity yesterday after Russian President Vladimir Putin's intervention because of their Russian citizenship, Sasha is also expected to be released today as part of the same gesture to Putin.
A crowd gathers in Gaza around the vehicle transporting the abductees (Archive) // Photo: Arab Networks
Sapir has three brothers and a family waiting for her at home. They tell about a beautiful and talented young woman with a strong character. That morning, Sapir's family tried to contact her, but her and Sasha's phones were not available, and later tracked showed that the devices were in Gaza. Friends of the two set up a war room, and a few days later a video arrived in which Sapir was apparently spotted being transported to Gaza by motorcycle.
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