The White House condemned a video posted by Hamas earlier Saturday that showed an Israeli-American hostage visibly emotional and under duress while giving a statement, as the terrorist group continues to hold over 100 hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
In a statement, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett called the video of Israeli-American Edan Alexander “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own,” and said that a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is “on the table now.”
“The hostage video released today of American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander is a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own. We have been in touch with Edan’s family. 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,” Savett said.
He emphasized that this is a “critical opportunity” to come to a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of the hostages and stop the fighting in Gaza.
“It has refused to do so [release the hostages], 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. 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,” the statement added.
The 3-1/2-minute video of Alexander, released by Hamas on Telegram earlier Saturday, begins with him covering his face and crying, before identifying himself and saying he has been a “prisoner of Hamas for more than 420 days.”
Throughout the video, Alexander, visibly under duress, struggles to utter statements critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government.
“I heard you speaking to the people of Israel on the news, and I am very disappointed. I heard that you will give $5 million to whoever brings us back alive. The prime minister is supposed to protect his citizens and soldiers, and you neglected us,” Alexander said in one of the statements.
In another statement, he says, “Fear and isolation are killing us. Please do not forget us. It is unreasonable that we pay the price for a mistake made by the government. Please, people of Israel, go out to demonstrate every day and pressure the government. It is time to put an end to this nightmare.”
Also included in the video is a plea to President-elect Donald Trump to “not make the mistake [President Joe] Biden has been doing.”
“Please use your influence and the full power of the United States to negotiate for our freedom. Every day here feels like an eternity, and the pain from inside grows from day to day. Please do not make the mistake Biden has been doing. The weapons he has sent are now killing us, and the unlawful sieges are now starving us. I do not want to end up dead like my fellow US citizen Hersh [Goldberg-Polin],” Alexander says.
In a statement, Netanyahu called the video “cruel psychological warfare.” He also spoke to Alexander’s family and said the Israeli government is working tirelessly to bring the hostages home.
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A ceasefire deal that includes the release of the remaining hostages may be close. Israel is considering reopening the Rafah border crossing, crucial for aid to Palestinians but that has also been host to numerous instances of abuse by Hamas, which has intercepted, controlled, used for its own military capabilities, and sold on the black market the aid that crosses from Egypt into Gaza.
The larger proposal would cease fighting between the terrorist group and the Jewish nation for at least 60 days, and after a week hostages would begin to be set free.
