Israel rallies global support to win release of a woman believed kidnapped in Iraq

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official says the government is working with allies in a renewed push to win the freedom of an Israeli-Russian researcher who is believed to have been kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago.

The official said Thursday that the matter was raised in a meeting of special envoys for hostage affairs in Jerusalem this week.

He said the envoys met the family of Elizabeth Tsurkov and that Israel asked the representatives – from the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria and Canada – to have their embassies in Baghdad lobby the Iraqi government and search for a way to start negotiations. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations. He said he hopes other countries will help.

''We are counting on our allies,'' the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing closed-door discussions. ''And I hope that other nations will suggest assistance in helping us release Elizabeth. Many nations have embassies and contacts with the Iraqi government.''

Tsurkov, a 38-year-old student at Princeton University, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate. She had entered the country on her Russian passport. The only sign she was alive has been a video broadcast in November 2023 on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media purporting to show her.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. But Israel believes she is being held by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that it says also has ties to the Iraqi government.

The Israeli official said that after months of covert efforts, Israel believes the ''changes in the region'' have created an opportunity to work publicly for her release.

During 15 months of war, Israel has struck Iran and its allies, and Iran's regional influence has diminished. Iraq also appears to have pressured militia groups into halting their aerial attacks against Israel.