Hamas releases video of US-Israeli hostage in Gaza

By Maayan Lubell

Palestinian militant group Hamas released a video of an Israeli-American hostage on Saturday, in which he pleads for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to secure his release.

Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan Alexander, said she was shaken by the 3-1/2-minute video, which showed the 20-year-old captive looking pale, seated in a dark space against a wall. He identified himself and addressed his family, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump.

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 said at a Tel Aviv rally calling for the hostages' release.

"My dear, beloved Edan, we miss you painfully," she said before she called on Israel's leaders to end the war in Gaza and make a deal with Hamas to release the hostages.

Netanyahu said in a statement that the video was cruel psychological warfare and that he had told Alexander's family in a phone call that Israel was working tirelessly to bring the hostages home. Trump's transition team could not be immediately reached for comment.

Alexander, a soldier at the time of his abduction, was taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.

Around half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still held incommunicado in Gaza are believed to be alive.

Hamas leaders were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials to explore ways to reach a deal that could secure the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

The fresh bid comes after Washington said this week it was reviving efforts toward that goal.

The Biden administration, in office until Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, said it is working "around the clock" to secure the release of U.S. citizens held hostage by Hamas.

"We have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza," said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett. "This deal is on the table now."

The Hostages Families Forum urged the administrations of both outgoing President Joe Biden and Trump to step up efforts to secure a hostage release.

"The hostages' lives hang by a thread," it said.