Yelena Troufanov the mother of Sasha Troufanov, who was kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 and released in a hostage deal, describes the moments of terror, hope, and faith that accompanied her throughout. In a moving testimony, she talks about the kidnapping, the captivity, the moment she found out her son was still alive, and her renewed connection to Judaism and prayer as a result of the difficult experience.
I Don’t Blame Anyone,Says Yelena
“I don’t blame Hamas, nor do I blame the army for not arriving at the kibbutz in time, nor do I blame the Almighty. It was a blow we received to unite us and understand what is truly important.”
Yelena recalled that on October 7, the attack did not only begin with the assault on her kibbutz, Nir Oz, but was a wake-up call for the entire Israeli nation. “The situation was challenging even before, everyone knows. It was as if the Almighty gave us a slap to make us realize that we cannot continue like this.”
They Are Breaking Down Our Door
“I received a message from Sasha: ‘They are breaking down our door.’ The door to the guest room was directly across from our house. My husband and I went to see, and we saw about ten militants breaking down the door and entering inside.”
At that moment, Yelena was convinced her son had been murdered. “I thought they had killed him. I couldn’t look. I went back inside, sat down, and waited. I knew our turn would come too.”
I Told My Mother They Killed Sasha; We Said Goodbye – and That Was It
Shortly thereafter, her mother called her. “She said, ‘They are breaking down my door.’ And I told her: ‘They killed Sasha.’ We said goodbye to each other and hung up. I had nothing to do.”
When the militants entered their home, they saw her husband Vitali’s car keys and demanded he hand over the vehicle. “He went out with them—and that was it; I never saw him again,” she recounts.
Hamas took her and the other hostages on foot to Gaza. “We passed a convoy of cars, people with suitcases, with televisions they had stolen, a tractor with captives. But I had no place in any vehicle. When the Hamas members realized there was no option for a ride, they simply said to me: ‘Come, we’ll walk.'”
The Prayers of the Girls in Captivity – “God, Listen to the Voice of a Little Girl”
While in captivity, Yelena met Daniel and Amelia, young hostages, and was moved to hear them pray. “Daniel said to Amelia: ‘You’re a girl, and a girl’s voice reaches the heavens faster. Let’s pray every morning.'”
“Every morning they would say: ‘God, listen to the voice of a little girl.’ Then they would ask: ‘Get us out of here, protect everyone, and bring our families home.'”
I Prayed, and Then I Got a Sign That Sasha Was Alive
One day, while she was in Rome with an Israeli delegation, she asked to see a sign from her son. “I prayed and said, ‘Please show me my Sasha, healthy and safe.'”
“The next day, when we landed, I received a video where I saw my son. He was speaking; he was alive. Thank God.”
Hamas Forced Him to Choose a New Name – He Chose “Yosef”
When he was held captive, the militants prohibited Sasha from using his original name. “They told him, ‘You can’t be called Sasha; you need an Arabic name.’ They gave him a name, but he couldn’t pronounce it correctly. So they said, ‘Choose a name you can say’—and he chose Yosef.”
Hamas militants in Gaza | Photo: Khalil Kahlout/Flash90
“When I heard this, I cried. Every time I prayed for Sasha, I said, ‘You also, Almighty, had one son, and he had a name.'”
A Spiritual Change, “We Started Observing Shabbat”
Since returning to Israel, Yelena and her family have started observing Shabbat and keeping Kosher. “We decided together, I, Sapir (Sasha’s partner), and the whole family, that we would keep Shabbat. Since then, we don’t turn on lights, we don’t travel, we keep everything.”
“The greatest embrace we received was from the religious and ultra-Orthodox community. I don’t know how I would have managed without that.”
We Cannot Manage Alone, We Need the Almighty
According to her, October 7 proved that the people of Israel cannot fight alone. “We thought we knew everything. We have technology, intelligence, and an army. But when the Almighty said, manage on your own, we saw what happened. We cannot manage alone. We need Him.”
Throughout captivity, Sapir told her that the militants themselves acknowledged the power of the Israeli people when unified. “They let her watch television. When they saw the protests, one of them told her, ‘When you are together, you are strong.'”
I Don’t Blame Anyone, Not Hamas and Not the Army
Even after the difficult experience she went through, Yelena does not harbor resentment. “I don’t blame Hamas, they were just a tool in the hands of the Almighty. And I don’t blame the army, they didn’t arrive because that’s how it was decreed from above.”
The Message to the People of Israel:
“The moment we are united, no one will be able to harm us. That is our mission, to be together, to connect, to understand that no one can manage alone.”
