Hamas says he has lost contact with the American-Israeli hostage in Gaza

Hamas says he “lost contact” with the group of fighters holding an Israeli-American hostage in a gas after an Israeli blow to their location.

21-year-old soldier Edan Alexander appeared in videos published by the group in recent days.

Israel had asked him to be released on the first day of the new 45-day proposal to end the fire last week that was rejected by Hamas.

Hamas did not indicate when contact was lost and did not provide any evidence of their request. Israel regularly claims that he avoids hitting places where he believes hostages are being held.

“We explain that we have lost contact with the group holding soldier Edan Alexander after a direct blow to their location,” Hamas spokesman Abu Naparia said in a statement.

“At that moment, we are still trying to reach them,” he added.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack in 2023, 59 remain in the enclave, 24 of which are thought to be alive.

It is believed that five hostages in Gaza are US citizens, and Alexander was considered the only one who is still alive.

Hamas later on Tuesday also released a video addressed to the families of the other hostages, warning that they would return to coffins if Israel continued his military offensive in Gaza.

On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Alexander alive, in which he asked for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump to negotiate his release.

Alexander was part of the Israeli proposal for a 45-day termination of the fire, which will include “the release of half of the hostages during the first week of the agreement,” a Hamas official told AFP. The employee said the proposal called for the release of Alexander on the first day as a “goodwill gesture”.

Two months of termination of fire earlier this year saw Hamas 33 hostages in exchange for the release of 1900 Palestinian prisoners and assistance and goods entering the strip.

Following second phase negotiations, they were unraveling, Israel resumed its offensive on March 18th.

Born in Tel Aviv but raised in New Jersey, Alexander served in an elite infantry part of the gas border when he was captured by Hamas fighters during the October 7th attack.

His father, Adi Alexander, called Netanyahu’s actions in an interview on Monday with the American Newsnation exit, asking: “How do you plan to get hostages without ending this war and without engaging in the second phase of this deal?”

Hamas said he was ready to return all who were still held in exchange for a full end to hostilities and complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.

On Tuesday, the group rejected Israel’s proposal for the updated termination of fire.

A senior Palestinian officer told the BBC: “The Israeli proposal is submitted to the movement through Egypt explicitly called for the disarmament of Hamas without committing the Israeli commitment to end the war or to withdraw from Gaza. Hamas rejected the proposal in his authorship.”

As Israel restarted its offensive in Gaza, at least 1630 people were killed – bringing a total killed war to 51,000 in 18 months, according to the latest data by the Ministry of Health, managed by Hamas.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and 251 took hostages.