The spokesman for Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, announced on Tuesday that contact had been lost with the unit guarding Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli soldier held hostage since October 7, 2023. He claimed an Israeli airstrike targeted their location and accused Israel of trying to eliminate Alexander to ease pressure over dual-national hostages.
"It seems that the occupation army is deliberately trying to kill him and hence relieve themselves from the pressure caused by the dual-citizen prisoners in order to continue its genocide against our people," Obeida stressed.
The strikes came after Alexander, who was serving near Gaza when he was taken captive, appeared in two Hamas videos. The latest, released on Saturday and approved for publication by his family, showed him alive. In the undated footage, he states he has been held for 551 days, suggesting it was filmed in the past week.
