New Delhi:
Palestinian group Hamas launched a video on Saturday that includes an American-Israeli hostage, Edan Alexander. Held in Gaza for the reason that devastating October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, Alexander immediately addresses US President-elect Donald Trump in English and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew, pleading for intervention and urging Israelis to stress their authorities for the discharge of hostages.
The video, launched by Hamas’s navy wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, has not been independently verified for authenticity or date. Yael Alexander, Edan’s mom, spoke at a rally in Tel Aviv the identical night.
“This video has upset me, however past the hope it offers us, it reveals how dangerous the state of affairs is for Edan and the opposite hostages and the way a lot they’re crying out and hoping to be saved now,” she declared.
The household of Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza, has approved the discharge of the heartbreaking proof of life video revealed by terrorists earlier at present. pic.twitter.com/pYp8vttt8t
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 30, 2024
She revealed that she had spoken immediately with Netanyahu, urging him to honour his dedication to safe the hostages’ launch. “You need to maintain your promise and free them. This state is powerful sufficient to finish the conflict and produce all of them again, together with my Edan,” she mentioned.
Netanyahu’s workplace later confirmed the dialog, reiterating that Israel stays resolute in its dedication to convey again all hostages. Describing the video as “merciless psychological warfare,” the Prime Minister mentioned that such ways wouldn’t deter Israel from its mission.
The Hostage Households Discussion board, an advocacy group for these captured, additionally weighed in, stating that the one viable answer for the return of hostages lies in a negotiated settlement. “One 12 months after the primary and solely deal, it is clear to everybody: returning the hostages is barely doable by a deal,” the group’s assertion learn.
The October 7 assault, which noticed 1,207 deaths-mostly civilians-resulted within the kidnapping of 251 hostages. Round 97 hostages stay in Gaza, together with 34 whose deaths have been confirmed however whose our bodies haven’t been returned. A short truce in November 2023 led to the discharge of 80 Israeli hostages in change for 240 Palestinian prisoners, alongside the discharge of 25 predominantly Thai captives. Nonetheless, efforts since then to dealer additional exchanges or a ceasefire have largely faltered.
Israel’s navy response has claimed the lives of 44,382 individuals in Gaza, in keeping with figures from the Hamas-run well being ministry.