President Herzog meets with mother of Israeli-American hostage

President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal met with Yael Alexander, the mother of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the president’s spokesperson announced on Sunday. 

The visit came after the release of a video showing Alexander held captive in Gaza, in which he spoke in a mixture of Hebrew and English. The video, titled "Soon...Time is running out," was published on Saturday on the Telegram channel of Hamas’ military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades.

Herzog spoke with the Alexander family about Edan, who is held alongside 100 other hostages, and said it is time to finalize a deal and bring the hostages home now that an agreement has been reached with Lebanon.

“We are negotiating with a bitter and cruel enemy whose sole purpose in releasing this video was to try to break our spirit,” he said. “On the contrary—I believe this video has strengthened us. My call to the entire world, to Israel’s leadership, and to all mediators is this: the time is now. We want Edan home. We want everyone home urgently. We cry out for this every single day—now is the time to act.”

“This video is like a message from hell—harsh and heartbreaking. When I saw it, I wept, but I also felt a glimmer of hope,” Herzog added. “There are negotiations taking place behind the scenes, and it can be done. Now is the opportunity to bring about a meaningful change that will lead to a deal to free the hostages.”

'You neglected us'

In the video, Alexander introduces himself and states he has been a prisoner of Hamas for more than 420 days. 

The video then switches to footage of Alexander covering his face with his hands and crying. Speaking in Hebrew, he gave a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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“I heard you speaking to the people of Israel on the news, and I am very disappointed,” he said. “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 the guards gave the hostages instructions in case the IDF reached them.

“The fear is at its peak, and we are dying a thousand times every day that passes, and no one feels for us,” he added. “The people of Israel: Do not neglect us. We want to return home with a full mind. 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.”

Speaking in English to US President-elect Donald Trump, Alexander said, “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].”

The video concluded with Alexander telling his parents and grandparents to be strong and that it is only “a matter of time until this nightmare ends.”

Yael Alexander responds 

“Edan—his voice and the video replaying endlessly. You can see in the video that Edan is going through hell,” she said. “His eyes are crying out, full of sorrow, but it gave me so much strength—Edan strengthened us with his call to us.”

“We released this video so that everyone can see—Edan is alive, and many other hostages are alive,” she added. “It’s time to act and free them.”

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.