SPOKANE, Wash. – Two people taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack are scheduled to speak at the Southside Senior Community Center on November 10, hosted by the Chabad of Spokane County.
The speaker event, titled “Finding Hope in Gaza’s Terror Tunnels,” is on November 10 at 7 p.m. and costs $30 to attend. Tickets can be bought in advance at the Chabad of Spokane County website.
Sapir Cohen and Sasha Troufanov, the event’s speakers, were taken along with 240 others on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli army bases, farming communities and an outdoor music festival, killing 1,200 people and taking hostages.
The attack began the Israel-Hamas war, which is formally in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Cohen and Troufanov lived in Tel Aviv at the time and were visiting Troufanov’s family on November 7, 2023, but were separated and taken to Gaza by Hamas militants, said Rabbi Yisrael Hahn from Chabad of Spokane in an announcement introducing them.
Troufanov’s father was killed in the attack and his mother and grandmother were also taken hostage. Troufanov was shot in the legs and severely wounded when he tried to escape.
Cohen was in captivity for 54 days, during which she met several other hostages including Troufanov’s mother. She was also interrogated by Hamas’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, Hahn said.
Troufanov was a hostage for 498 days.
“Join us for an unforgettable evening of strength, faith, and resilience with former hostages Sapir Cohen and Sasha Troufanov. Hear their powerful story of survival, hope, and the unbreakable human spirit,” the Chabad of Spokane County wrote on their webpage about the event.
