NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – An Israeli American man with ties to Connecticut is among three hostages that Hamas said it plans to release on Saturday in the latest exchange.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, was among the three men named Friday by Hamas, along with Israeli Argentinian Iair Horn, 46, and Israeli Russian Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29.
Chen has familial ties to Bloomfield, according to the Connecticut Post. His father grew up in Bloomfield and moved to Israel as a young adult.
Chen was taken hostage while defending Kibbutz Nir Oz from Hamas during their Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack. Chen’s parents, pregnant wife and two young daughters survived. His third daughter was born while he was in captivity.
His father, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, told NBC Connecticut last October: “Time and the world in general can only begin again when my son, Sagui, is free.”
His wife, Avital Dekel-Chen, told the outlet the last time she remembers seeing him was when he rushed to put the family in a safe room and went out to confront Hamas.
"We miss him so much," she said. "My daughter is asking about him every single day."
Horn and Troufanov were abducted from the same kibbutz, which was among the hardest hit on Oct. 7, with some 80 of the roughly 400 residents taken hostage.
Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.
Troufanov was taken along with his grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and girlfriend Sapir Cohen. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov's father was killed on Oct. 7.
Under the terms of a ceasefire that began on Jan. 21, Israel is to release more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in its jails in return for the three men. It will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect.
So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.
Of the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.