Palestinian militant group Hamas released a video on Saturday featuring Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old Israeli-American hostage, pleading for intervention from US President-elect Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure his release.
Speaking in Hebrew and English, Alexander urged Israelis to pressure their government and called on Trump to use the United States’ influence to negotiate his freedom.
The 3-minute video, released by Hamas’s armed wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, shows Alexander pale and seated in a dark space. It is the first footage of him in months.
As per Reuters, Alexander’s mother Yael described the video as distressing but said it highlighted the plight of the captives.
Addressing a rally in Tel Aviv, she said, “The video gives us hope, but it also shows how difficult it is for Edan and the other hostages, who are crying out for rescue.” She called on Israeli leaders to end the Gaza war and finalise a deal with Hamas to free the captives.
Netanyahu condemned the video as “cruel psychological warfare” and reassured Alexander’s family of Israel’s ongoing efforts to secure the release of all hostages. His office said the prime minister had “promised that Israel is determined to take every action to bring them back home.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also emphasised that “returning the hostages is only possible through a deal.”
According to Reuters, around half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages believed to be alive remain in Gaza. A brief truce in November 2023 saw the release of 80 Israelis and 25 other hostages, mostly Thai workers, in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
Hamas leaders arrived in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, reportedly aiming to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
The White House National Security Council called the video a “cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror” but noted, “This deal is on the table now.” Sean Savett, a council spokesperson, said, “The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow if Hamas agreed to release the hostages.”
Alexander, abducted during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, was among 251 hostages taken. Since then, 97 remain in captivity, including some confirmed dead whose bodies are still in Gaza. Hamas’s latest video follows earlier clips released this month of another Israeli hostage, Sasha Trupanov, by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
The October 7 attack killed 1,207 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures cited by AFP.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza have resulted in over 44,000 deaths, per the Hamas-run health ministry’s figures, considered reliable by the United Nations.