Fears are growing for Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen held hostage in Gaza, after Hamas said it lost contact with the group holding him following Israeli strikes on the area it was based in.
“We are still trying to reach them,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the group had come under “direct bombardment” from Israel. As of Wednesday morning, it was unclear whether that had changed.
NBC News was not able to independently verify Hamas’ claim and the Israel Defense Forces and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alexander, who grew up in New Jersey, was doing voluntary service with Israel’s military when he was taken hostage Oct. 7, 2023, along with around 250 others. Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
More than 51,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip since then, according health officials in the enclave, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
Alexander is one of at least 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, according to Israeli officials, although less than half are believed to be alive.
His family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But after Hamas released a video of him, likely speaking under duress, on Sunday, his father, Adi Alexander, expressed fears for his son.
“It was very tough to observe, very tough to see our son in this situation,” he told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” show.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of those held captive in Gaza, said it would not “respond to or acknowledge” Hamas’ statement. “We do not consider any statements from Hamas to be credible,” it added.
The group has previously expressed fears that Israel’s military offensive was imperiling the safety of hostages held in the enclave.
Hamas said in March that it was willing to release Alexander, as well as the bodies of four dual nationals, but wanted to begin negotiations to start the second phase of a three-part ceasefire deal with Israel.
Talks for a permanent end to the fighting were supposed to begin after the first phase of the ceasefire deal — in which Hamas released 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight in exchange for around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners and detainees — ended March 1.
But Israeli forces shattered the fragile truce last month and have since launched airstrikes on the enclave while also resuming military ground operations.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who has shown little sign that he is willing to end the conflict, made a trip to northern Gaza on Tuesday, along with a group that included Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Calling on Hamas to release the hostages, his office quoted him as saying that the militant group would “suffer more and more blows,” until they were freed.
The visit came as he faces mounting pressure from the Israeli public, including former members of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the military, to agree to an end to the hostilities.
