GAZA CITY, Palestine: Hamas’s armed wing said Tuesday it had “lost contact” with the group holding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander following an Israeli air strike on their location in Gaza.
“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 this moment,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said on his Telegram channel.
The Brigades released a video on Saturday showing Alexander alive, in which he criticised the Israeli government for failing to secure his release.
Alexander was serving as a soldier in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was held hostage by the Palestinian group during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The soldier was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the US state of New Jersey.
Out of the 251 hostages taken on October 7, 58 remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.
Gaza ceasefire talks
Nearly a month after Israel resumed its aerial and ground assaults across Gaza, the Palestinian group said on Monday it had received a new ceasefire proposal from Israel.
A senior Hamas official, cited by AFP, said that Israel had proposed a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages.
The Hamas official said that the Israeli proposal calls for the release of Alexander on the first day of the ceasefire as a “gesture of goodwill”.
Hamas is set to send a delegation to Qatar this week to continue indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel through mediators.
The Palestinian group said it has readied a formal response to the latest Israeli proposal, according to officials cited by international media.
A senior Hamas official, speaking to AFP on Tuesday, said the group would “most likely” issue its response to the Israeli proposal “within the next 48 hours.”
The official said that internal consultations are ongoing “within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position.”
The ceasefire talks have been mediated by Qatar and Egypt with the support of the United States and have recently resumed in Cairo.
During the negotiations, parties have reviewed a proposed framework under which Hamas could release 8 to 10 hostages held in Gaza.
However, a major point of contention remains unresolved: whether any new deal would include a permanent end to the war.
Hamas insists on ending Israeli war on Gaza
Hamas is reportedly pushing for an end to the Israeli war as part of the agreement, a condition that Israel has so far resisted.
A Hamas official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions, told AFP on Monday that the upcoming round of negotiations is expected to take place later this week or early next week in Qatar.
Officials from Israel and Qatar have not issued any statements on the matter.
The talks follow the collapse of an earlier ceasefire agreement that had been held from January to March.
That truce, which lasted eight weeks, was initially intended to pave the way toward a negotiated end to the war.
Al-Qassam Brigades released a video of captive Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.
“I truly believe we will return home dead. There is no hope. Every day I see Netanyahu controls the state like a dictator.
I heard Hamas was ready to release me three weeks ago—but you… pic.twitter.com/RRVz8gu1UJ
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 12, 2025
However, Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza last month, citing its objective of defeating Hamas before a permanent ceasefire.
Since the collapse of the ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated significantly.
Worst humanitarian crisis in Gaza
According to the United Nations, Israel has imposed a complete blockade on aid entering the coastal enclave since 2 March.
“No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday, warning that the crisis is now likely “the worst” since Israel launched its military operation on 7 October 2023.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Monday that at least 38 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
The ministry states that over 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire ended in March and the total death toll since October 2023 has now reached nearly 51,000, with more than half of the fatalities being women and children. – Agencies
