The White Home denounced the harrowing hostage video of Edan Alexander launched on Saturday, calling it “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror.”
The disturbing hostage footage exhibits the 20-year-old protecting his face and crying. Alexander, who’s a twin American-Israeli citizen, was serving within the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists throughout the Oct. 7 assaults.
Within the footage, Alexander appeared gaunt and pale. The hostage defined that he had been a prisoner for over 420 days and delivered compelled messages to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Trump.
On Saturday, Nationwide Safety Council (NSC) spokesman Sean Savett stated that the White Home was conscious of the footage and is in contact with Alexander’s household.
ISRAEL DESTROYS HEZBOLLAH’S ‘LARGEST PRECISION-GUIDED MISSILES MANUFACTURING SITE’
A lady holds a picture of hostage Edan Alexander throughout the International Day of Unity and Prayer with Israel’s Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board, which represents the family members of these taken captive by Palestinian Hamas militants throughout the Oct. 7, 2023, assault. (Yuri Cortez/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
“The hostage video released today of American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander is a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own,” he stated.
“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately — and would have ended months ago — if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” Savette added. “It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza.”
Savett additionally promised that President Biden “will continue to work around the clock” to safe the discharge of the hostages in Gaza.
Edan Alexander born in Tel Aviv and raised in New Jersey, is presently hostage by Hamas in Gaza. (Hostage Household Discussion board)
The discharge of the footage got here days after the IDF and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, agreed to a 60-day cease-fire in Lebanon. Whereas saying the deal on Tuesday, Biden acknowledged Hamas’ unwillingness to launch its hostages.
“Far too many civilians in Gaza have suffered far too much,” the president stated from the White Home’s Rose Backyard. “And Hamas has refused, for months and months, to negotiate a good-faith ceasefire and a hostage deal.”
Alexander’s mother and father, Yael and Adi Alexander, appeared on “Fox & Friends” final month to talk about their son. Throughout the interview, the New Jersey residents described a gathering they’d with President-elect Trump.
“I just told [Trump] about Edan, what kind of a Jersey boy he is,” Yael stated. “I told the president that people that [were] rescue[d] in mid-November, saw Edan inside the tunnels, and they told me that he was speaking with them, tell[ing] everyone that he’s an American citizen.”
An Israeli soldier rides in a navy car close to Israel’s border with Lebanon on Wednesday, Nov. 27. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He tried to calm everyone down and to say, ‘Listen, you’re all civilians. You will be out soon, very fast. Don’t worry about it.’ It gave us a lot of strength to know that Edan was strong on October 7th, and he was comforting others,” she added.
Reuters and Fox Information Digital’s Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
