Freed Gaza hostages Rom Braslavski and Alexander Sasha Troufanov reunited for the first time since being held together in terror captivity, Braslavski announced on his personal Facebook page on Wednesday morning.
"The last time we saw each other was in the trunk of a car in Gaza after we were brutally separated from each other [after terrorists held us] for two days together in Rafah," Braslavski wrote, sharing pictures of the two embracing.
"Sasha, you were like a big brother to me in captivity, and a significant anchor, and you are always in my heart," he added.
"Bro, I love you," he added, with the emoji for a fistbump, and referring to the pair of freed hostages as "Jihadnikim," a reference to how they were both held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Strip.
Troufanov, who was freed on February 15, was the first person to give a sign-of-life for Braslavski during a speech in March.
At the time, Troufanov commented on how he often thought about Braslavski, whom he "had met for a brief period."
“Rom, I hope my voice will be a light and a source of hope for you in the dark and grim place you are in,” Troufanov said at the time.
In April, Troufanov reacted to propaganda video footage of Braslavski published by PIJ.
"Through his eyes, I saw all the difficulty, suffering, and all the hard things he has gone through" since they last saw each other, Troufanov said.
Later footage shared by the terror group in August showed Braslavski in poor condition, leading some to compare him with Holocaust survivors.
Braslavski recalls PIJ terrorist torture conditions
After Braslavski was released, he discussed how PIJ terrorists tortured him.
"It's wrong to say that they tortured me because [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir is provoking them [Palestinian prisoners] in prisons," he said in an interview with Channel 13 earlier this month. "They only tortured me for one reason, because I am a Jew. This is why I got everything I got. Not because of Ben-Gvir, not because of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, nothing else."
“The Defense Ministry, the government, the Hostage Headquarters, the police, and all the governmental bodies are overwhelmingly neglecting me, screening my calls and writing to me that it’s late,” Braslavski wrote on Facebook on November 16.
Braslavski explained that since returning home, neither Netanyahu nor Ben-Gvir reached out to him, stating he felt only “contempt” from the government.
“Sixty thousand shekels. That’s the grant that a Hamas captive survivor receives after two years. It’s just a shame, and Netanyahu or Ben-Gvir still haven’t made contact. NOTHING,” he wrote.
Darcie Grunblatt and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.