Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal called former Iraq hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov, 38, “scum” after she criticized the news channel’s reporting of the IDF killing two children, 10, and 12, who, according to the IDF, crossed the Yellow Line and were said to have been carrying out suspicious activities on the ground.
Tsurkov highlighted that the Channel 12 report labeled the two children as suspects. “Ch 12 is the most watched channel in Israel and represents the mainstream,” she stressed.
“What a remarkable country Israel is, that even for those who malign it the most, it makes an effort to redeem them from captivity that has nothing to do with it and is not its fault,” Segel said, adding that “even scum like Tsurkov do not deserve to rot in the captivity of terrorist organizations.”
"If you consider an accurate translation into English of Channel 12’s headline to be ‘smearing’ the state, perhaps it would be worthwhile to change something in the coverage so that it meets journalistic standards?" Tsurkov replied.
Tsurkov acknowledged that Israel's actions were beneficial to securing her release and claimed that Segal had publicly spoken against Israeli involvement in the operation, thanking those who "did not heed [Segal's] public call, made while I was in captivity, that they should not do so."
Segal, in return, called Tsurkov "an obsessive person who hates her country," whose "foolish adventures" cost Israel an "enormous price."
"I do not hate the country. I criticize its policy in many areas, and express my appreciation for the policy in other areas," Tsurkov responded, adding that if Segel wants “to live under a regime where such criticism is forbidden, go to Gaza.”
Segel responded, “You do not hate the state, you are simply in a years-long tic of defaming the country using the cheapest tools of enemy propaganda, including the systematic downplaying of 7.10 and the systematic amplification of the results of IDF actions.
I will not go to Gaza because, unlike you, I do not tend to cast responsibility for my actions onto the state, but you are welcome to go.”
Reuters reported that the children’s uncle said an Israeli drone fired on brothers Fadi and Goma Abu Assi while they were gathering firewood to help their wheelchair-bound father east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Tsurkov's captivity and release
Tsurkov was held in Kata’ib Hezbollah captivity in Iraq for 903 days. The Russian-Israeli was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023 while conducting doctoral research in Iraq for Princeton University. She was released in September 2025.
Her release was initiated through diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration.
According to a New York Times interview published in early November, she was tortured and abused by her captors.
Tsurkov was beaten “senseless”, hung from the ceiling, and electrocuted, according to the report, causing her permanent nerve damage.
She was forced into physically challenging positions, causing injuries to her back and shoulders. She had lost consciousness on multiple occasions while being tortured, only to be woken up with water on her face and continued torture. At the hands of this Irani-backed militia, Tsurkov recalled a marathon of psychological and physical torment.
Some of her worst treatment was in her first few months, the report said, where she not only received countless beatings, but was sexually assaulted by her captors.
Kata’ib Hezbollah is a Shiite militia operating freely in Iraq. Backed by Iran, it has been designated a terrorist organization by the US and other Western countries. Thousands of militiamen receive salaries from the Iraqi government, pointing to such limited influence by the government over their activity.