OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:59 PM – Wednesday, April 16, 2025
According to Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the Islamist terrorist group “lost contact” with hostage Edan Alexander’s captors on Tuesday, following what he called “a direct strike on their location” — the BBC reported on Wednesday.
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Nevertheless, the Hamas spokesperson did not give any proof to back up the claim, nor did he say where Hamas members searched for the captors, or when the information was discovered.
Edan Alexander, a native of Tenafly, New Jersey, is the only one of five American hostages thought to be alive.
Former prisoners informed Alexander’s family that he had endured over 500 days confined within a tunnel. They also stated that he had suffered severe mistreatment, including prolonged periods of being shackled, and appeared visibly malnourished.
On March 6th, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff had informed reporters that the United States expected Hamas to release Alexander as a gesture 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,” Witkoff stated.
During the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel, 20-year-old Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped from his military post — close to Kibbutz Nirim.
Following the release of a propaganda video featuring Alexander by Hamas on Saturday evening, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir had a conversation with Alexander’s parents on Sunday. In the 3-minute video, Alexander explains that he has been imprisoned by Hamas for 551 days. However, the video’s release and distribution to the public has not been approved by Alexander’s relatives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Hamas video of Alexander as “cruel psychological warfare.”
Zamir further conveyed to Alexander’s family that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintained both an operational imperative and a moral responsibility to secure the return of all the hostages.
“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.”
Additionally, the Alexander family expressed their gratitude to the chief of staff for the call, and for reaffirming the military’s unwavering commitment to securing the return of Edan and the other hostages.
“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.
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