Proof of life
The first sign of life from Braslavski reached his family through Sasha Trufanov, another hostage abducted from his home in Nir Oz on 7 October. Trufanov was released in February 2025 as part of a Hamas–Israel prisoner exchange deal after 498 days in captivity. In early March 2025, he met with Braslavski's family and told them that they had been held together for part of their imprisonment, saying that Braslavski had regained strength and morale during that period.
In April 2025, 558 days after his abduction, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a first video showing Braslavski alive in captivity. [2]
Three months later, in mid-July 2025, the organization claimed that it had lost contact with the cell that had abducted him and that his whereabouts were unknown. [3] His family later stated: "No one knows where Rom is — neither the IDF nor Islamic Jihad. The only thing we knew was that he was being held alone."
On 31 July 2025, the Islamic Jihad published another video showing Braslavski in visibly deteriorated health, appearing extremely weak and emaciated, reporting severe hunger and thirst, and documenting his personal notes about going days without food or surviving on lentils or a few falafel balls per day. [4]
The footage drew international attention and condemnation. [5] Following its release, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Braslavski's family, expressing deep shock and pledging that the state would do everything possible to bring him home. [6] Medical experts, including Professor Yuval Heled, estimated that Braslavski had lost 33–50% of his body weight and warned of immediate life-threatening conditions due to severe malnutrition, dehydration, and damage to vital organs. [4]
