After 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas, five Americans are still being held hostage in Gaza, but only one of them is alive. Israeli American Edan Alexander, who hails from Tenafly, New Jersey, is the last living American hostage in Gaza.
Though he spent most of his life in New Jersey, Alexander was born in Israel a few months before his parents moved to the U.S., according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC).Â
In many ways, Alexander grew up like many American kids. He went to Tenafly High School, was a swimmer and loved the New York Knicks. All that separated him from most American teenagers was his frequent trips to Israel to visit family and the fact that he spoke Hebrew at home.
After graduating from high school, Alexander decided he would enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rather than enroll in college.
Lawmakers in Israel and the United States have been fighting for his release over the last 16 months, but Alexander was not included in the list of people to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., met with Alexander’s parents, who are his constituents, just a few weeks after the Tenafly High School graduate was taken hostage.
“No family should ever have to experience this unfathomable pain, and I will do everything I can to reunite Edan with his family safely,” Gottheimer said in a statement about the meeting.
A woman holds an image of hostage Edan Alexander during the Global Day of Unity and Prayer with Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of those taken captive by Palestinian Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attack. (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)
On Alexander’s 300th day in captivity, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., said, “We must see Edan reunited with his family and community as soon as possible.”
In addition to Alexander, Hamas is holding the bodies of four dead American hostages. Hamas released six more hostages Saturday in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners as part of its ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel. This is still the first phase of the ceasefire, and the second phase is expected to be negotiated soon.
