JERUSALEM: Hamas’s armed wing published a video Saturday of an American-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
In the video, whose date cannot be verified, Edan Alexander addresses US President-elect Donald Trump in English and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew.
He calls on Israelis to put pressure on the government to secure the release of the hostages seized on October 7.
“The shocking video of Edan, an American-Israeli citizen, is definite proof that despite all the rumours – there are living hostages and they are suffering greatly,” the Hostage Families Forum campaign group said in a statement.
“One year after the first and only deal, it’s clear to everyone: returning the hostages is only possible through a deal,” it added.
Hamas: No hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Gaza war ends
Hamas seized 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, some of whom were already dead.
Ninety-seven are still being held, including 34 who have been confirmed dead but their bodies remain in Gaza.
During a brief truce between Israel and Hamas in November last year, 80 Israelis held by in Gaza were freed, in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
Another 25 hostages, mostly Thai farm workers, were also released from captivity in Gaza.
Saturday’s video was released by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and comes after Palestinian, a group allied with Hamas, published clips of another Israeli hostage, Sasha Trupanov, earlier this month.
The October 7 attack resulted in 1,207 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,382 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
American Dollar Exchange Rate