Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it has lost contact with terrorists holding Nova survivor hostage

Braslavski’s medical condition is unknown, with the last proof of life coming in April in the form of a propaganda video filmed by his captors, during which he showed signs of apparent illness.

Born in Tel Aviv and raised in Russia, he was taken from the Nova music festival, where he was working as a security guard, during the October 7, 2023 massacres.

He reportedly only took the job while on a break from military service but is known to have saved two young women at the festival from Hamas before being wounded and captured.

Responding to PIJ’s claims, Braslavski’s family echoed the concerns of other hostage relatives that the operation in Deir al-Balah may be putting their loved ones at risk, accusing the government of “placing territory before hostages”.

They said: “We want to know where our son is. We want those responsible to sit with us and relay the situation, not fragments of information or partial truths.

"We are broken and in pain. We demand answers from our country about our beloved Rom.

"No one knows where Rom is. Neither the IDF nor Islamic Jihad knows anything. The only thing we were ever told is that he is being held alone.”

Likewise, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the new operation.

"The families demand that the prime minister, defense minister, chief of staff, and IDF spokesperson appear before them and the Israeli public this evening to clearly explain why the offensive in the Deir al-Balah area does not put the hostages at serious risk,” said the group in a statement.

However, it should be noted that both PIJ and Hamas have previously claimed to have lost contact with hostages and even that captives have died as a form of psychological warfare, only for them to be included in later return deals or rescued by IDF soldiers.