Father of American-Israeli hostage urges US to engage in direct talks to free captives

The father of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander says he remains hopeful his 21-year-old son is still alive after Hamas said it could not account for his status.

Adi Alexander, whose son was serving in the IDF when he was kidnapped by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023, calls on the United States to engage in direct talks to free the remaining 59 hostages, of whom 24 are believed to be alive.

“I think we should engage back with them directly and see what can be done in regards to my son, four American dead hostages and everybody else,” the father says in an interview.

“It seems like the negotiations are stalled, everything is stuck and we are kind of back to a year ago,” he adds. “It’s really concerning.”

The armed wing of Hamas has said it does not know the fate of Alexander, after making the unverified claim that the guard holding him was killed.

Edan, who holds dual nationality, grew up in New Jersey. His father says his son was an “all-American kid, great athlete …, such a loving, loving boy” who found himself in “the wrong place, wrong time.”

Hamas recently released an undated video, purportedly of Edan. His father Adi says, “He looked very scary to us — just a horrible, horrible video.”

A hostage video is, by definition, made under duress and the statements in it are usually coerced, according to international law groups and human rights experts.

Adi says that if he could speak to his son now, he would tell him: “Just believe. You know, nobody forgot about you. Definitely not your parents, and everybody is fighting for your release on the highest level in the States and I believe also in Israel.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.