Cautious optimism is growing in both Israel and Gaza as negotiators inch toward a ceasefire agreement. In the kibbutz of Nir Oz, DW met with Yelena Trufanova, a released hostage herself, whose only wish is that her son be one of the Israeli hostages who will return.
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00:00Elena Trufanova comes to kibbutz near Oz every Sunday and Thursday to feed the homeless cats.
00:07The weeks go by, but this is a place frozen in time from the day of the Hamas attacks.
00:14This job she used to share with her husband Vitaly.
00:18I and Vitaly took care of all the cats in the kibbutz. Now that Vitaly is no more,
00:23it is all mine, the only thing that is left after my husband. You see, everything here burned down.
00:29The family lived in the kibbutz since they emigrated from Russia in 1999.
00:35Vitaly worked in an agricultural cooperative and Elena at the local paint factory.
00:40Their son Alexander, or Sasha, grew up here and went on to work for Amazon. He turned 29 last
00:47November. Everything changed on the 7th of October 2023, when Hamas attacked the kibbutz.
00:56Sasha and his girlfriend Sapir were visiting and were staying in the guesthouse.
01:02My husband and I were in the secure room here and saw through the window how about 10 people,
01:07maybe more, broke down the door in Sasha's house and rushed inside.
01:12And I thought that they were killed.
01:14But she did not know for sure. Elena was captured and kept hostage in Gaza.
01:19As it turned out, she was held with her son's girlfriend Sapir,
01:23who insisted that Sasha could still be alive.
01:27Surviving as a hostage, Elena says, depended on personal character.
01:35I saw people who broke down and I saw those who came out of this stronger. For example,
01:40Sapir, there she helped everyone. She even took upon herself the responsibility for a 16-year-old
01:47girl that was also captured.
01:52Elena was released in November 2023. She only learned then that her mother was a hostage too
01:59and was also freed, and that Hamas killed Vitaly.
02:04Elena does not want to comment on Israel's response
02:07after the attacks, like the massive military operation in Gaza.
02:11I have nothing to say about this. I do not think about it.
02:17Getting my son back alive and well is the only thing I want.
02:24There is tentative proof that Sasha is still alive.
02:27Palestinian militants have released proof-of-life videos.
02:31He is also on the alleged list of hostages
02:34they agreed on with the Israeli government during negotiations.
02:38Elena says that when her son is released, she will not hesitate to return to live
02:44in the kibbutz and finally do something she's been putting off.
02:49Only then I shall be able to mourn Vitaly. I haven't even been to his grave yet.
02:55They buried him without us while we were in captivity.
02:58I do not want to visit his grave on my own. I shall only do it together with Sasha.
03:04Until then, Elena feels she has a duty
03:08to take care of the cats that have no one to feed them anymore.