White House: Biden administration has been in touch with Edan Alexander’s family after hostage video

The White House says that the propaganda video released today of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander “is a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett says the Biden administration has been in touch with Alexander’s family amid the release of the clip in which the 20-year-old can be heard pleading to the leaders of Israel along with the incoming and outgoing leadership of the US to act to secure a deal for his release.

“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately — and would have ended months ago — if Hamas agreed to release the hostages. It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Savett says in a statement.

“This deal is on the table now. President Biden and the United States will continue to work around the clock to secure the release of our citizens including through diplomatic efforts and by increasing pressure on Hamas terrorists through sanctions, law enforcement actions and other measures,” he adds.

“On behalf of the Alexanders and all the families of the hostages still being held by Hamas, we will never cease in our efforts to secure their immediate release,” Savett says.