Hamas released a video Saturday showing captured Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander pleading with President-elect Donald Trump to secure his freedom, as his mother called for Israel to negotiate with the militant group.
The 3-1/2-minute video shows the pale 20-year-old seated against a wall in a dark space, addressing his family, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Trump. Alexander was taken to Gaza during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
“The video gives us hope, but it also shows how difficult it is for Edan and for the other hostages, and how much they are crying out and praying for us to rescue them,” his mother, Yael Alexander, said at a Tel Aviv rally demanding the hostages’ release. She urged Israeli leaders to end the war and negotiate with Hamas.
Netanyahu called the video “cruel psychological warfare” in a statement, saying he told Alexander’s family Israel was working tirelessly to free the hostages. About half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be alive.
The video’s release coincides with Hamas leaders’ expected arrival in Cairo for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, exploring a potential deal exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The Biden administration, which leaves office January 20, said it is working “around the clock” to free U.S. citizens held by Hamas.
“We have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said. “This deal is on the table now.”
The Hostages Families Forum urged both the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump administrations to intensify efforts for a hostage release, warning that “the hostages’ lives hang by a thread.”
