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US-Israeli hostage feared dead after Hamas loses contact with captors
Last American captive Edan Alexander was held by militants whose base was hit by Israeli air strike
The last remaining US hostage held captive in Gaza may have been killed in an Israeli air strike, Hamas has suggested.
The terror group said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with militants holding Edan Alexander following a “direct strike” on their location.
The 21-year-old has been the subject of intense negotiating efforts by the White House, with Donald Trump risking a rift with Israel by launching unprecedented direct talks with Hamas in order to get him back.
Born in Tel Aviv but raised in New Jersey, Mr Alexander returned to Israel after leaving high school to volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was captured during the Hamas attack of Oct 7 while on active duty near Gaza.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’s Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said on the Telegram messaging platform: “We announce that we have lost contact with the group holding soldier Edan Alexander following a direct strike on their location. We are still trying to reach them at the moment.”
The news has emerged days after Hamas released a video of the young man in captivity to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Passover, which his family asked the media not to circulate.
Hopes were raised at the weekend that a new ceasefire might be imminent after Hamas said it was considering an Israeli proposal to stop the fighting, let in aid and release Palestinian prisoners in return for a scheduled release of about 10 living hostages.
However, a significant gulf between the two sides is thought to remain, with Israeli officials briefing on Monday that any deal could be two or three weeks away. On Tuesday, the BBC reported that Hamas had turned down the latest proposal.
‘Black coffins’ warning from Hamas
Heavy bombardment of suspected militant positions has been a major feature of Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive.
Hamas appeared quick to try to seize the propaganda initiative one Tuesday, with its spokesman suggesting Israel was “deliberately trying to relieve the pressure on the dual-nationality prisoners in order to continue its war of extermination against our people”.
It also released a video in which it warned that “soon your children will return in black coffins”.
Mr Alexander was thought to be one of 24 hostages still alive in Gaza, with Hamas in control of the remains of a further 36 deceased hostages.
His mother, Yael Alexander, spoke in February of her renewed sense of hope brought about by Mr Trump’s administration.
The White House risked angering Israel by embarking on the direct talks with Hamas, in parallel with the official mediated negotiations. Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have deliberately scuppered those discussions out of fury at being blindsided and concern that the Americans were prioritising their own citizens in any putative deal.
Israel’s current strategy in Gaza has been to combine heavy aerial bombardment with seizing large tracts of territory as so-called buffer zones, which are out of bounds to civilians.
Recent reports suggest it now controls a third of the enclave. Ministers have said this is in order to pressure Hamas into giving up the remaining hostages.
Israel was accused of hitting another Gazan medical facility on Tuesday, with a spokesman for the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area saying an IDF airstrike had killed a medic and wounded nine other people.