Former hostage Andrei Kozlov spoke at the IAC summit in Washington, Trump welcomed him

On Thursday, September 19, former hostage Andrei Kozlov, who was freed from Hamas captivity on June 8 of this year as a result of a special operation, spoke at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) summit in Washington.

Andrei was greeted by former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He invited Kozlov to the stage, saying, “He has more courage than me.” Trump then hugged the former hostage and said, “Andrei was rescued by Israeli forces after eight months of horrific captivity.”

The Israeli thanked Trump. In his speech, he said: “I was a prisoner of Hamas for 246 days. I am here free and I am talking to you for one reason: I was saved by soldiers, IDF fighters… No one understands what the hostages feel. We must remember: 101 of them are still in Gaza. They think about death every day – ask me. They are angry, weakened, defenseless, they have lost hope. I beg all the leaders: please, please, we need to find a way to bring them home before their time is up.”

Andrei Kozlov was freed from captivity along with three other hostages – Noa Arghamani, Almog Meir-Jan and Shlomi Ziv – on June 8, 2024, as a result of a special operation carried out by the IDF in Nuseirat, in the center of the Gaza Strip.