Troufanov also told the British TV network that during his weekly allowed shower, he noticed a hidden camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed it and I took the shower trying to avoid my private parts toward this angle, but I had to do it because I needed to shower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Then he was taken underground into the tunnel network, where it was dark and damp, and he was largely alone for many months.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI remember feeling that I am buried underneath the ground while I am still alive. I was losing it. I was having a hard time to find hope in this place,\u201d he said. \u201cMany times I lost hope completely. I said to myself: \u2018This is the last place you will see alive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \t Troufanov\u2019s testimony followed that of fellow male former hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal<\/a> and Rom Braslavski<\/a>, who disclosed sexual abuse during captivity. Several released female hostages have also recounted sexual violence<\/a> and threats while held in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u2018The moment you\u2019re going to die\u2019<\/p>\n In the BBC interview, Troufanov recalled being kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he and his fiance Sapir Cohen were visiting his family, after having recently moved in together in Ramat Gan. Troufanov said that after breaking into their home, terrorists punched him and stabbed his shoulder, and that despite having wrapped herself in a blanket and hid under the bed found Cohen, who was also taken captive and freed after 50 days.<\/p>\n Troufanov\u2019s mother Yelena and grandmother Irena Tati were also kidnapped. His father\u00a0Vitaly<\/a> was murdered during the onslaught.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the terrorist with so much anger and hate in his face, holding his knife trying to stab me even more,\u201d Troufanov said.<\/p>\n He added that he was later shot twice in each leg after momentarily escaping his captors as they took him from Nir Oz, even though he had given up running.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt the rush of pain going through my brain and I fell to the ground then one of the terrorists hit me with the rifle from the back of my head and split it open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t After being abducted to Gaza, Troufanov was beaten by Palestinian civilians, telling the BBC that he thought \u201cthis is the moment you\u2019re going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his wounds, Troufanov said he received barely any medical treatment in Gaza, describing how he was once brought to a hospital where they used a wooden broom and part of a metal grill to wrap one of his legs, which was shattered when he was shot.<\/p>\n Troufanov was held in isolation for nearly all of his captivity, though briefly was with Braslavski<\/a>, who was also taken hostage by Islamic Jihad.<\/p>\n \u2018Waited so long\u2019 for last hostage\u2019s return<\/p>\n With the return of the final hostage body this week, Troufanov said that rebuilding Gaza is \u201cunderstandable,\u201d but the people there must be stopped from attacking Israel again: \u201cThe terrorists were telling me: \u2018We will do this again and again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRebuilding Gaza and opening the Rafah crossing is in vain as it will never solve the real problem. We need to find a way to make this hatred and encouragement of terrorist activity stop,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n Troufanov was in London on Monday when news broke of Israel\u2019s recovery of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose body was still in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt wonderful. We waited so long for this to happen,\u201d Troufanov said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was carrying this burden ever since I came back. It was like a weight on my shoulders that kept me from coming back to my life. Although we were released, we didn\u2019t really come out of Gaza because our friends and brothers were still there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \t Troufanov is currently on crutches after surgery to repair his shattered leg.<\/p>\n But he is hoping to heal enough to be able to dance at his wedding next month to Cohen. \u201cIt\u2019s a victory: overcoming hate and fear and saying to ourselves: \u2018We will build life together and we will continue.’\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFreed hostage Sasha Troufanov, left, with his girlfriend Sapir Cohen in an Israeli Air Force helicopter on the way from the Gaza border area to Sheba-Tel Hashomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv, soon after his release from 498 days in captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. (IDF)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/F231121CG18-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tSoldiers walking next to the destruction by Hamas-led terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, November 21, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GvaUzUzWIAAwuCa-e1752061796530-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tReleased hostages Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen pose after getting engaged in a photo released on July 9, 2025 (Courtesy)<\/p>\n
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