With the world’s attention fixed on efforts to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, talks are quietly continuing to liberate an Israeli hostage held in Iraq by a different Iranian-backed militant group. A 38-year-old Middle East scholar from Israel was kidnapped in 2023 while doing research in Iraq, and officials from several countries say progress is being made to secure her release. The family of the scholar – Elizabeth Tsurkov, who also holds Russian citizenship – is trying to remain optimistic. Even though the circumstances are completely different, the release of hostages from Gaza earlier this year gave the family reason to stay hopeful that Tsurkov, who marks 800 days in captivity on Thursday, will also be freed. “It’s like a phoenix rising from the ashes when the hostages come out. You see that despite everything they’ve been through, there is still life in them,” said Emma Tsurkov, the scholar’s sister. There were reports over the weekend that negotiators were very close to a deal, but the terms are complicated and Tsurkov’s sister said no deal appears imminent. “One of the most difficult parts about having a loved one in captivity is the uncertainty,” she said. Negotiators are focusing on an exchange that would include seven Lebanese captured during the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah. But Iraqi and Lebanese officials told The Associated Press the talks recently stalled over Iran’s demand for the release of one of its citizens detained in Iraq for the killing of an American. Held captive by an Iraqi militant group Elizabeth Tsurkov disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate at Princeton University. The only direct sign of life her family has received is a November 2023 video of her broadcast on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media. In the past few months, officials from several countries, including the Iraqi foreign minister and deputy prime minister, have confirmed she is alive and being held in Iraq by a Shiite Muslim militant group called Kataeb Hezbollah, according to her sister. The group has not claimed the kidnapping nor have Iraqi officials publicly said which group is responsible. Kataeb Hezbollah’s leader and founder died in an American airstrike in 2020 that also killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the architect of its military alliances in the region. The group, an ally of Hezbollah in Lebanon, is part of a coalition of Iranian-backed militias that are officially part of Iraq’s armed forces but in practice often act on their own. The U.S. government listed Kataeb Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in 2009. Moving pieces from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and the US Emma Tsurkov, who lives in California, believes the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has the most leverage to pressure the Iraqi government for her sister’s release – either by withholding arms or financial assistance. Israel, which does not negotiate directly with Iraq because the two countries have no formal relations, has less influence, she said. Although Tsurkov entered Iraq using her Russian passport, Russia has declined to get involved in negotiating for her release, Emma Tsurkov said. Earlier this year, a senior Israeli official said the Israeli government is working with allies in a renewed push to win the freedom of Tsurkov. Israeli officials declined to comment for this story. […]