The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander made an emotional plea Sunday to President Biden, President-elect Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling leaders to act now to bring the hostages home “before it’s too late.”
A day after seeing his son for the first time in a year in a propaganda video released by Hamas’ military wing, New Jersey’s Adi Alexander spoke at a rally in New York’s Central Park, saying: “A father should not hear his child begging for his life.” .
Edan Alexander is pictured in this photo released by the Office of Governor Phil Murphy.
Governor Phil Murphy’s office
“President Biden, President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m calling on all of you to act,” Alexander said. “This is not a time for politics or hesitation. This is a time for courage, cooperation and decisive action.”
He asked Biden to use US influence to “negotiate an agreement before it’s too late.”
Adi Alexander, the father of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, speaks during a rally in Central Park in New York on December 1, 2024.
WABC
Directing her words to Trump, she said, “You don’t have to wait until January to make an impact. The world is watching. Act now.”
To Netanyahu, Alexander said: “The fate of the hostages, including my son, is in your hands. You have the power to bring them home. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.”
Edan Alexander, 20, was serving in the Israeli army and was near Gaza when he was captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
The White House released a statement saying it had contacted the Alexander family and said the seized video was “a cruel reminder of the terror that Hamas has unleashed on the citizens of many countries, including our own.”
“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately — and it would have ended months ago — if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” White House Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “He has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to finalize the deal to release the hostages, stop the war and increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. This deal is now on the table.”
