Adi Alexander, father of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander, speaks to the press outside the West Wing of the Oval Office after meeting with President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 25. Hamas on Saturday released a propaganda video of Edan Alexander, prompting his parents to again urge U.S. and Israeli leaders to secure a release deal. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier and U.S. citizen held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, was shown alive in a propaganda video released Saturday, prompting fresh pleas by his parents for his return.
Alexander, a Golani Brigade soldier, was abducted near his post at Nirim during Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, in which 251 Israelis were taken hostage. Around 100 are believed to be still held by Hamas, some of whom have been confirmed dead by the Israeli military. Advertisement
In the 3 1/2-minute video released by the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, a thin-looking Alexander is shown calling on the Israeli government to bring him home. He later speaks in English, urging the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump to work for his release.
That call was echoed by his parents, Yael and Adi Alexander, who pleaded with Trump to work with U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to clinch a hostage release deal.
“While this video confirms our son, Edan, is alive, it also stands as a haunting reminder that 101 innocent people remain in the clutches of Hamas,” they said in a statement issued to media outlets. “Every passing hour dims the prospect of their survival.” Advertisement
Trump, they said, “must not wait until he is inaugurated to help reach a deal that secures the freedom for Edan, six other Americans, and the rest of the hostages. Their liberation depends on swift, decisive action. Bring them home now, before it’s too late.”
Edan Alexander is one of seven American hostages believed to be kidnapped by Hamas. He says in the propaganda video he doesn’t want to die like the American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose body was discovered in Gaza along with five others in August.
The White House called the video release “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own,” and referred to Biden’s efforts earlier this week prodding Netanyahu to reach a hostage-release deal in Gaza in the wake of Israel’s cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“We have been in touch with Edan’s family,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately — and would have ended months ago — if Hamas agreed to release the hostages.
“It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza.” Advertisement
