The spokesman for Hamas’s military wing said on Tuesday that the terrorist group had “lost contact” with the captors of hostage Edan Alexander after what he described as “a direct strike on their location,” the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The spokesman provided no evidence to support the claim, and did not specify when the strike had occurred, or where.
Alexander, 20, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was abducted from his military post near Kibbutz Nirim during the Hamas-led invasion of Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke with Alexander’s parents on Sunday after Hamas on Saturday night published a propaganda video of him.
In the three-minute video, Alexander says he has been held captive for 551 days, suggesting it was filmed last Wednesday.
Alexander’s family has not authorized the broadcasting or distribution of the video.
Zamir told the family that the return of the hostages remains an operational and moral imperative for the Israel Defense Forces.
“We are doing everything possible to bring them back,” Zamir said. “As their commander, this is a responsibility I carry with me in every decision I make.”
The Alexander family thanked the chief of staff for the call and for reaffirming the military’s commitment to bringing Edan and the others home.
“Our Edan, a lone soldier who immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Golani Brigade to defend the country and its citizens, is still being held captive by Hamas,” Alexander’s family said in a statement on Saturday.
“So, when you sit down to mark Passover, remember that this is not a holiday of freedom as long as Edan and the other 58 hostages are not home,” it added.
Originally from Tenafly, N.J., Edan is the only one of five remaining American hostages believed to still be alive.
Former captives told Alexander’s family that he had been held in a tunnel for more than 500 days. He appeared severely malnourished and had been tortured and kept in chains for a long time, they said.
Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff told the press on March 6 that the United States wants Hamas to free Alexander as a show of goodwill.
“Edan Alexander is very important to us—as all the hostages are—but Edan Alexander is an American, and he’s injured, so he’s a top priority for us,” said Witkoff.
In November, Hamas released a video of Alexander that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “cruel psychological warfare.”
