Last Tuesday, Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, announced that it had lost contact with the group in charge of guarding U.S.-Israeli soldier Eidan Alexander, after an Israeli strike “directly targeted” the location where he was being held captive.
Alexander has been at the center of the U.S. administration’s attention in recent months, with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff saying in early March that the U.S. wanted Hamas to release Alexander.
Later, in mid-March — three days before Israel broke the ceasefire deal and resumed the war on Gaza — Witkoff rejected a Hamas proposal to release Alexander and the remains of four dual nationals in exchange for entering into talks over the end of the war, calling it “disingenuous.” Witkoff said that he expected the Palestinian movement to accept his earlier proposal to extend the ceasefire for a month in exchange for the release of Alexander and half of the remaining captives, but without a guarantee of ending the war. ….more
