Edan Alexander is believed to be the last living American citizen being held hostage in Gaza, but new fears have arisen after Hamas now claims they've lost contact with the group holding the 21-year-old. In a Tuesday statement, a spokesman for Hamas' military arm, the Qassam Brigades, said that that group had come under "direct bombardment" from Israeli airstrikes, and that "we are still trying to reach them," reports NBC News. The spokesperson didn't indicate where exactly Alexander had been held in Gaza, per Reuters.
Alexander, a New Jersey native who holds dual Israeli-American citizenship, was a volunteer soldier with the Israeli military when he was captured on Oct. 7, 2023. He's one of nearly five dozen hostages still being held in Gaza, though it's believed less than half of them are still alive. Per the Times of Israel, Hamas has released two propaganda videos featuring Alexander, including one disseminated over the weekend that appears to show Alexander at some point within the past week.
"Tell me why, why am I not home with my friends, with my family?" an agitated and emotional Alexander says in the three-minute clip, adding that he was "collapsing physically and mentally." "President Trump, I really believed you would succeed in getting me out of here alive. Why did you fall for [Israel Prime Minister] Netanyahu's lies? Why am I still here?" The video ends with the words "Only a ceasefire agreement brings them back alive." The Times notes that Alexander's statement was "almost certainly dictated by his captors."
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US envoy Steve Witkoff said last month that earning Alexander's release was a "top priority" for the Trump administration, per Reuters. On Tuesday, meanwhile, Alexander's father posed a query to Netanyahu publicly. "To [the] prime minister, the question still remains, the same one: How do you plan to get the last hostage out without ending this war and without committing to the second phase of this deal?" Adi Alexander said on NewsNation, per the Times, referring to the phased ceasefire deal reached in January—a "fragile truce" that was broken with new Israeli airstrikes last month, per NBC. "I wonder when President Trump will lose patience with the situation." (More Israeli hostages stories.)
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