US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced in a post on his Truth Social platform that Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who had been kidnapped in Iraq, has been freed.
“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months,” wrote Trump.
“I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Today, hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov was released, an Israeli citizen who was abducted in March 2023 in Iraq. Through a team effort led by the Coordinator for the Hostages and Missing Persons, Gal Hirsch, which lasted many long months and after great efforts, we succeeded in bringing about her release."
He added, "This evening, I spoke with Emma and Avital, Elizabeth's sisters, and in the moving conversation, I told them that all the people of Israel are happy to see her back home again. We will continue to fight with vigor and determination until we bring all our hostages home—both the living and the dead."
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani confirmed that Tsurkov had been released and said, “As a culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months, we announce the release of the Russian citizen, Elizabeth Tsurkov. We reaffirm, once again, that we will not tolerate any compromise in enforcing the law and upholding the authority of the state, nor will we allow anyone to undermine the reputation of Iraq and its people.”
Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, responded to her sister’s release and wrote on X, “My entire family is incredibly happy. We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days.”
“We are so thankful to President Trump and his Special Envoy, Adam Boehler. If Adam had not made my sister’s return his personal mission, I do not know where we would be. We also want to thank Josh Harris and his team at the US Embassy in Baghdad for the support they provided to our sister and the team at the nonprofit Global Reach who advocated relentlessly for my sister's safe return,” she added.
Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and a fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, had been missing since March 2023. Israel said in July of that year that Tsurkov is being held by Kata'ib Hezbollah, a Shiite militia group.
In January, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that Tsurkov is alive and stressed that al-Sudani is working for her release.
A subsequent report stated that Tsurkov is expected to be released soon in exchange for the release of eight Hezbollah terrorists by Israel.