TEL AVIV, Israel (news agencies) — Yael Alexander has been watching the release of hostages from Gaza over the past six weeks with a mix of joy, envy and fear. Her son Edan, an American-Israeli hostage held for over 500 days, is not yet on the list of those to be freed.
As uncertainty swirls over the future of the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the families of hostages still in Gaza are struggling to maintain hope that they will see their loved ones soon.
“This is a critical time,” said Alexander, whose son was a 19-year-old soldier when he was abducted by Hamas-led militants.
“I know my son is probably in tunnels, so I understand that he’s not seeing sunlight, and the air is very thin underground,” said Alexander. “It’s very, very difficult for me to even think about it.”
The ceasefire deal that paused the 15-monthlong war in Gaza has held despite repeated crises. But with its first stage coming to an end this week, its fate remains unclear.
The two sides were supposed to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release all of the remaining living hostages taken during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
But the sides haven’t even started those talks, leaving the families of the remaining hostages terrified for the fate of their loved ones and desperate for progress.
Since he is a soldier, Edan Alexander was not expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas is releasing 33 hostages — mostly women and older or sick men — for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Still, every week, Yael Alexander hoped in vain she might see her son’s name on a list of hostages to be freed. Each time she didn’t was a punch to the stomach, she said. She is thrilled for every family that is reunited, but she dreams of her own jubilant embrace with her son and wonders if it will ever happen.
Alexander is pinning her hopes on the Trump administration. On Sunday, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told CBS that Alexander was “front and center” for the administration.
“It’s one of President Trump’s most (important) objectives, is to get all Americans home and we’re going to be successful in getting Edan home,” Witkoff said.
That sparked hope for Alexander’s mother.
“Every time they say Edan’s name, it’s like they didn’t forget. They didn’t forget he’s American, and they’re working on it,” she said.
After months of talks with no progress, the Trump administration was “speaking the language of the Middle East,” she said, giving credit to the president for applying pressure and clinching a ceasefire the day before his inauguration.
The tenuous ceasefire has faced repeated stumbling blocks and, most recently, Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over what it calls the “humiliating” hostage handovers in staged ceremonies in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also faces pressure from his political allies to resume the war and crush Hamas.
There are 27 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza and eligible for release as part of the second phase of the ceasefire. The remains of 35 others who were killed in the Oct. 7 attack or in captivity are also being held. There are also the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 whose body was taken to Gaza.
The families have been ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli government to move ahead with talks to release more hostages.
And Hamas’ latest tactics are only fueling more desperation. On Saturday, it posted a video of two hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, whom it forced to witness the release of other hostages. Hamas militants filmed them pleading for their freedom in a vehicle as they watched the three Israeli hostages on stage before their transfer to the Red Cross. Their distraught families called the video cruel and said it was proof of the urgent need to get everyone out.
“I don’t know how, after this event they experienced yesterday, they will be able to gather their strength again,” Galia David, the mother of Evyatar David, told Israel’s Reshet Bet radio station on Sunday. “It’s clearly staged, but their desperation is real.”
Hamas released a video of Edan Alexander last November during the Thanksgiving weekend, his favorite holiday, his mother said. The video was difficult to watch as he cries and pleads for help, But it was a relief to see it, the most recent a sign that he was alive, she said.
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