The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas says it has lost contact with a group holding the Israeli captive Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip after the “direct Israeli bombardment” targeted the area where it was detained.
“It seems that the Occupation army deliberately tries to kill him and therefore relieves the pressure caused by double-quotation prisoners in order to continue his genocide against our people,” Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Qassam on Tuesday on Tuesday.
Hamas had published a video on Saturday showing that Alexander – from New Jersey and a 21 -year -old soldier in the Israeli army – Alive.
Alexander seemed to be under the constraint of the video and called on the American president Donald Trump to get him out of Gaza and urged the American president not to believe “lies” told by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In his last statement, Abu Obeida did not say where Alexandre was detained in Gaza. The group’s armed wing then published a video warning families of the captives that their “children will return to black coffins with their bodies torn from the bursts of shells from your army”.
Hani Mahmoud, from Al Jazeera, reporting from Gaza City, said the Palestinians through the enclave believe that the United States “has an interest” to ensure the release of Alexander in a negotiated agreement.
“They believe that this will increase pressure on the Israeli government to speed up the process and reach an agreement,” said Mahmoud. “If it is confirmed that Alexander was killed, Palestinian groups will lose what they hoped to be a lever for pressure against the Netanyahu government to make it sign a cease-fire agreement.”
Hamas previously blamed Israel for the death of captives held in Gaza, in particular accordingly direct bombing, while recognizing at least one opportunity that a captive was killed by a goalkeeper. He said the guard had acted against instructions.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told journalists at the White House in March that the creation of the Liberation of Alexander, who would be the last American hostage living in Hamas in Gaza, was “absolute priority for us”.
Alexander’s potential release was at the center of previous talks that were held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Humanitarian situation at its “worst”
The announcement comes when Netanyahu declared that Israel would continue with its military offensive in Gaza to guarantee the release of captives and the troops rented during a visit to the devastated north.
“They hit the enemy and Hamas will continue to suffer after a blow.
During a telephone call with Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he had told the head of Israel that the suffering of the inhabitants of Gaza “should end” and that only a cease-fire could release the remaining Israeli captives.
Hamas released 38 captives under the last truce agreement that started on January 19. In mid-March, the soldiers of Israel resumed his ground and the air offensive in Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire and reproducing a total blockade of Gaza.
Hamas has criticized the current blockade, claiming that Israel prevented the entry of “all the essential articles necessary for life, including food supplies, drugs and fuel”.
The United Nations also warned that the Gaza humanitarian crisis becomes uncontrollable.
“The humanitarian situation is now probably the worst in the 18 months that followed the trigger for hostilities,” said the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA).
Israeli forces continued to bomb the areas of Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least 21 people, according to the Civil Defense of Gaza.
Since the start of Israel’s assault in October 2023, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Israeli officials say that the offensive will continue until the remaining 59 captives are released and until Hamas is demilitarized. Hamas insists that the hostages only release in the context of an agreement to end the war permanently and have repeatedly rejected the requests to submit arms.
Israel published a truce as a truce to Egyptian and Qataris mediators on Monday, offering a 45-day temporary cease-fire in exchange for the disarmament of Hamas and the release of 11 Israeli captives still held in Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement that he “studied” the proposal, but Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera before the official declaration that Hamas would not accept any disarmament.
