Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday showing Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander alive, criticizing the Israeli government for its failure to secure his release. Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in Israel’s elite Golani Brigade, was abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The video, published as Israel marks Passover, shows Alexander speaking under apparent duress in a confined space.
His family, speaking through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, urged the public to remember Edan and the other captives during the holiday, stating, “This is not a holiday of freedom as long as Edan and the other hostages are not home.” The family did not authorize media outlets to broadcast the video.
The video surfaced shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced military control of the “Morag axis,” a strategic corridor between Rafah and Khan Yunis, and signaled plans to expand Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Hamas warned that ongoing Israeli military actions endanger both Palestinian civilians and the remaining hostages.
Since the October 7 attack, in which 1,218 people in Israel were killed, Hamas has held 251 hostages. Fifty-eight remain in captivity, including 34 confirmed dead. Gaza’s health ministry reports that 1,563 Palestinians have been killed since the March 18 ceasefire ended, raising the war’s total death toll to over 50,900.
