Tammy Braslavski, the mother of hostage Rom Braslavski, said Friday she believes her son is still alive. Her remarks followed the release of a video by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which claimed the footage was recorded two days before contact with his captors was lost.
In a social media post, she shared an image from the video and wrote: "They managed to break him."
Fellow captive Sasha Troufanov, who survived alongside Rom, reacted emotionally: "Seeing these images of Rom's current state is heartbreaking. The strength he had is gone, replaced by sadness and helplessness."
He called on those who oppose a deal with Hamas to reconsider and urged immediate action to bring the hostages home. "Anyone who watches these images without deep sorrow and a will to act lacks compassion. We must not stand idly by while our brothers suffer in captivity."
He praised the soldiers risking their lives for the hostages and stressed the urgent need to end their ordeal.
