The armed wing of Hamas reported on Tuesday that it had lost communication with a group holding Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage, in the Gaza Strip. Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the militant group, announced via Telegram that contact was lost after an Israeli military strike targeted the location where Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier originally from New Jersey, was being held.
The spokesperson did not reveal the specific location of Alexander’s captivity within Gaza. Hamas later released a chilling video directed at the families of hostages, threatening that their loved ones would return in “black coffins” with bodies “torn apart by shrapnel” from Israeli airstrikes.
Previously, Hamas has accused Israel of causing the deaths of hostages during military actions. In some cases, they have acknowledged that hostages were killed by guards acting against orders. There has been no immediate response from the Israeli military regarding Hamas’s latest statement concerning Alexander’s captivity.
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