Hamas Military Wing spokesman said Tuesday that the terrorist group had “lost contact” with the captors of the hostages Edan Alexander after what he described as “a direct strike in its location,” BBC reported Wednesday.
The spokesman did not provide evidence to support the claim, and it was not specific when the strike occurred, or where.
Alexander, 20, a double American-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped from his military post near Kibbutz Nirim Duration the invasion led by Hamas of October 7, 2023.
The Chief of Cabinet of the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant Gene. Eyal Zamir spoke with Alexander’s parents on Sunday after Hamas on Saturday night published a propaganda video.
In the three -minute video, Alexander says that he has remained captive for 551 days, which suggests that he was filmed last Wednesday.
Alexander’s family has not authorized the transmission or distribution of the video.
Zamir told the family that the return of the hostages remains an operational and moral imperative for Israel’s defense forces.
“We are doing everything possible to bring them back,” Zamir said. “Like his commander, this is a responsibility that I take in every decision I make.”
The Alexander family thanked the chief of cabinet for the call and for reaffirming the commitment of the military to take Edan and the others home.
“Our Edan, a lonely soldier who emigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Golani Brigade to defend the country and its citizens, is still cautious by Hamas,” Alexander’s family said in a statement on Saturday.
“So, when you feel to mark Easter, remember that this is not a freedom party whenever they edan and the other 58 hostages are not at home,” he added.
Originally from Tenafly, NJ, Edan is the only one of the five American hostages that are believed to be still alive.
The former captives told Alexander’s family that he had been arrested in a tunnel for more than 500 days. He seemed severely malnourished and had tortured his legs and kept in chains for a long time, they said.
The special envoy of the Trump administration, Steve Witkoff, told the press on March 6 that the United States wants Hamas to free Alexander as a good will.
“Edan Alexander is very important for us, as are all hostages, but Edan Alexander is an American, and is Kured, so it is a priority for us,” Witkoff said.
In November, Hamas released a video or Alejandro that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “cruel psychological war.”