The deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, Mousa Abu Marzouk, told state media in Moscow Thursday that the terror group is prepared to prioritize the release of two Russian-Israeli hostages held in Gaza if a ceasefire agreement with Jerusalem is finalized, before referring to his comments as “a gesture to our Russian friends.”
Marzouk described the captives, Maxin Herkin and Alexandre Troufanov, as serving in the Israeli military, which is why they were not removed from their confinement in a November exchange that included two civilians requested for release by Russia’s foreign ministry.
The offer comes after Marzouk’s meeting on Wednesday with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, during which the U.S.-educated jihadist asked the senior diplomat to pressure the Palestinian Authority to initiate negotiations for a post-war unity government.
Another dual national from the Eurasian country, Alexander Lobanov, was murdered by Hamas operatives in late August along with five other Israelis inside an underground dungeon in Rafah.
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