By Lior Ben Ari, Daniel Edelson, New York

Copyright ynetnews

Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023 by the Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah, has been released and is at the American Embassy in Iraq, US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening on his Truth Social platform. He also said that she has been “tortured” for many months and called on Hamas to release its Israeli hostages. “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. I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!” Trump posted on his social media account. In a post on the X platform, Iraq’s prime minister confirmed the release. “Following the efforts of our security services for many months, we announce the release of Russian citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov. We will not allow anyone to harm the reputation of Iraq and the Iraqis.” Tsurkov, 38, is an Israeli with Russian citizenship who lived in the United States as part of her doctoral studies at Princeton University. She was kidnapped in Baghdad on March 26, 2023, during a visit for her research. It was believed that Tsurkov was being held by the pro-Iranian militia Kataib Hezbollah, although the organization denied this. Her visit to Iraq was not her first there, and she apparently entered using her Russian passport. Nearly a year after her abduction, a video surfaced of Tsurkov pleading in Hebrew for her release. In the recording, she “confessed” to working for Israel’s Mossad and the CIA and “demanded” Israel stop its “heinous attacks.” Before her kidnapping, Tsurkov was an outspoken critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and publicly stated, “If I’m kidnapped, don’t pressure anyone to secure my release.” Tsurkov was born in St. Petersburg to Jewish dissidents who had previously been imprisoned in Siberia. When she was four the family immigrated to Israel and settled in Kfar Eldad in the West Bank, where their mother still lives. She has a sister in the U.S., a younger brother and sister who live in Israel, while their father resides in Brazil. After her military service, Elizabeth earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and communications at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies at Tel Aviv University and political science at the University of Chicago. She later began a Ph.D. at Princeton, which brought her to Iraq as part of her research. Her studies focused on the Middle East, particularly Syria, ISIS and the Syrian civil war. She conducted fieldwork in Syria, Jordan, Turkey and other countries in the region. Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, said on behalf of their family: “The entire family is overjoyed. We can’t wait to meet Elizabeth and shower her with all the love we’ve been waiting to share for 903 days. We are grateful to President Trump and his special envoy, Adam Boehler. If Adam hadn’t made my sister’s return a personal mission, I don’t know where we would be today. Elizabeth’s sister added: “We also want to thank Josh Harris and his team at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for the support they provided to our sister, and the team at Global Reach who fought tirelessly for my sister’s safe return.” In May, her mother met with Boehler, President Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs who was involved in the release of American hostage Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity, in an attempt to bring about a breakthrough.