Hamas: Israeli strike severed contact with hostage holders
Shafaq News/ Hamas’s armed wing announced on Tuesday it had lost contact with the unit holding Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, said the captors’ whereabouts were unknown following a “direct hit” by Israeli forces in Gaza. “We are still trying to reach them.”
The spokesperson accused Israel of intentionally targeting hostages with dual nationality in order to “relieve pressure on itself over the captives file,” describing the strike as part of Israel’s ongoing “genocide” against Palestinians.
The announcement came alongside the release of a video message addressed to families of Israeli hostages, in which the militant group warned, “Soon, your sons will return in coffins … your government ordered the execution of the prisoners and prepared their burial.”
Hamas claimed it had previously agreed to release Alexander, along with the remains of four other hostages, as part of a US-backed proposal.
Alexander had appeared in two earlier hostage videos, including one released on Saturday in which he appealed to US President Donald Trump to intervene and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning those held captive in Gaza.
In another video, Alexander expressed fears he would meet the same fate as fellow American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whom Hamas said was killed by Israeli fire.
The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, revealed the death toll in the territory has surpassed 50,900 since the war began in October 2023, with more than 116,000 others injured.
