Support The Moscow Times!

Israeli PM’s Military Secretary Visits Moscow to Discuss Hamas Hostages

Levi Meir Clancy / Unsplash

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday that his senior military adviser visited Russia to discuss the return of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants.

“The Prime Minister's Military Secretary, Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman returned this morning from a visit to Moscow, the goal of which was to advance the hostages deal,” the office said in a statement.

Gofman, who is originally from Belarus, was said to have talked with Russian officials about the fate of Alexander Lobanov, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen who was among 251 people taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

On Saturday, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Lobanov’s, in the Gaza Strip. Around 100 hostages remain in captivity, dozens of whom the Israeli military says are likely dead.

Huge demonstrations erupted in Israel on Sunday night in an outpouring of grief and fury over the six hostages who were found dead over the weekend, with calls to hold a nationwide strike on Monday to pressure the government to secure the release of the surviving hostages.

The Kremlin has not commented on Gofman’s trip to Moscow. Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov expressed condolences over Lobanov’s death and vowed to continue working toward returning Alexander Trufanov, another Russian-Israeli hostage.

Moscow, along with dozens of other countries, has condemned Israel’s conduct in its brutal war on Gaza in retaliation to the attack by Hamas militants last year. At the same time, Russia has strengthened military and political ties with Iran, a traditional ally of Hamas.

Gofman, who moved to Israel in the 1990s, was the highest-ranking officer wounded in the Oct. 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s war on Gaza, meanwhile, has so far killed at least 40,691 people in Gaza, according to the local health ministry. The UN human rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

AFP contributed reporting.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more