Netanyahu failed us, Hamas hostage says

The video shows Edan Alexander, not seen since he was kidnapped on October 7 last year, expressing disappointment at Benjamin Netanyahu and sending a ‘message’ to Donald Trump | WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Still images of Edan Alexander as he appears in the hostage video released by Hamas.

Hamas has released a video of the Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who appeared to be speaking under duress, expressing disappointment at Benjamin Netanyahu and sending a “message” to Donald Trump.

Alexander, 20, seen for the first time since he was kidnapped on October 7 last year, said he was disappointed at the Israeli prime minister’s recent $5 million offer to anyone that returns the hostages alive. Alexander can be heard saying “the prime minister is supposed to protect his citizens and soldiers but you neglected us”.

It is not known when the video was recorded but Alexander also addressed Trump in English and asked him not to “make the mistake Biden has been doing”. He added: “The weapons he has sent are now killing us and the unlawful sieges are now starving us.”

The US National Security Council said in a statement that the video was “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own”.

It added: “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.”

In the video Alexander can be seen sitting against a wall in the corner of a dark room, dressed in a grey T-shirt with a single light shining on his face. At one point he appears to hold his head in his hands and cry. It is hard to make out if this is staged.

Netanyahu’s office said the video was “brutal psychological warfare” that held “an important and exciting sign of life”.

It said Netanyahu had spoken with Alexander’s family about the video.

Addressing a crowd of thousands in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Alexander’s mother, Yael, said she had been “shaken by the video”.

Adi Alexander, holding microphone, the father of Edan Alexander, addresses the crowd at a hostage deal rally in New York. Picture: Hostages Families Forum

“My Edan, my love, we miss you so much. I want to tell you that following your request, about an hour ago, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called me. He strengthened me and assured me that now, after the deal in Lebanon, the conditions are ripe to release you and bring you home,” she said, referring to a ceasefire that went into effect between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday morning.

In a post on the Bring Them Home Now Instagram page the Alexander family said that one year after the first and only deal, it was clear to everyone that returning the hostages was only possible through a deal.

Israel’s retaliatory ground and air offensive in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

The health authority does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but said that more than half the dead were women and children.

Towards the end of the video Alexander addresses his family directly. “Please be strong,” he says, fighting back tears. “It is only a matter of time until this nightmare ends.”

The Times