Hamas reneged Saturday on a commitment to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander — the latest twisted “manipulation and psychological warfare” by the terror group, Israel said.
The terrorist group on Friday agreed to free the 21-year-old –who is the last living American hostage — along with the bodies of four other slain captives, but then put forward a list of “entirely impractical” conditions it requires amid ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire deal, Israeli officials said.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire,” a statement from President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the US national security council said.
“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side,” it added. “It is not.”
Hamas said Israel must release more Palestinian prisoners, allow aid into Gaza, withdraw from a strategic corridor along the Egyptian border and begin talks on the next phase of the ceasefire the same day that hostages are released, a senior official with the terrorist group told the Associated Press Saturday.
Witkoff and Eric Trager, National Security Council senior director for the Middle East, presented a proposal in Qatar this week that would extend the first phase of the ceasefire, which ended on March 1, to mid-April and give both sides time to develop a plan to end the war.
Israel has rejected opening the second phase of talks and supports the US proposal, which would reportedly include the release of five additional living and several deceased hostages and allow aid into Gaza in an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire.
Hamas says it will only free additional hostages during the second phase.
Israel has not responded to the latest demands as government offices observe the Sabbath but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said Hamas “has not budged a millimeter,” and called its offer to release Alexander “manipulation and psychological warfare.”
Witkoff indicated that Hamas has been given a deadline to comply with the proposal, though that date remains unclear, and added that Trump has vowed to make them “pay a severe price” for not freeing hostages “immediately.”
Hamas still holds a total of 59 hostages captive, 35 of whom are believed to be dead.
Alexander, who grew up in Tenafly, NJ, was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, while serving as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces and has been held captive for 526 days, as of Saturday.
He is injured and has been “severely interrogated and tortured,” according to reports, but his family remains hopeful for a deal that brings him home.
“He seems to be OK,” his father, Edi Alexander, told NorthJersey.com this week, based on accounts from recently released hostages. “He’s in very tough conditions.”
Witkoff said earlier this month that Alexander’s release is a “top priority” for the Trump administration.
The additional four bodies expected to be released are of unidentified dual nationals who died in captivity.
Netanyahu is set to discuss next steps Saturday night with Israeli officials returning from Doha, according to reports.
Hamas, meanwhile, is accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement after Israeli strikes in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya early Saturday reportedly killed nine people.
The IDF said it had identified two terrorists operating a drone and that they “posed a threat” to forces.
With Post wires