(22 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Jersey, U.S. – 21 March 2025
++VIDEO CALL++
++STARTS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITES++
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of the U.S Israeli hostage Edan Alexander:
“This card needs to be played right. I mean, the military reaction maybe even necessary. But again, it needs to, it needs to target the only one objective to get this small deal back on the table.”
++DIP TO WHITE++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of the U.S Israeli hostage Edan Alexander:
“We talk all the time, almost every day with (U.S. envoys) Steve (Witkoff) and Adam (Boehler). My understanding, the parties are working, still working and negotiations still continue under fire. So hopefully to see the results soon.”
++DIP TO WHITE++
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of the U.S Israeli hostage Edan Alexander:
“I believe he (Netanyahu) wants to get everybody home, but on his own condition and those conditions and Hamas conditions, not intertwine. That’s why there is a huge gap that needs to be narrowed, and that’s why we have mediators, and we have Steve Witkoff. And as we speak, I believe as we speak, they speak as well.”
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Unlike many families who blame Israel’s government for not getting their loved ones released from captivity in Gaza, Adi Alexander is hesitant to point fingers.
Speaking from his New Jersey home, the father of the last living American being held hostage by Hamas told the Associated Press he just wants his son to come home.
Still, with the once-promising ceasefire giving way to renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas, he wonders whether Israel can secure his son’s freedom and is more hopeful about the U.S.’s chances to do it.
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the U.S., is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead.
Last week, Hamas said it would release Edan and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to the stalled ceasefire agreement.
Days later, though, Israel launched rockets across Gaza, breaking the two-month-old deal and killing hundreds of Palestinians.
The hostilities show no signs of abating, with Israel vowing Friday to advance deeper into Gaza until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.
The return to fighting has inflamed the debate in Israel over the fate of those held captive.
Netanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis.
But he also faces demands from his hard-line allies not to accept any deal that falls short of Hamas’ destruction.
Adi Alexander said he thinks Netanyahu wants to bring everybody home, but on his own terms.
He questions Netanyahu’s plans whereas he believes U.S. President Donald Trump’s message is clear: He’s focused on bringing the hostages home.
Alexander said he’s counting on the U.S. to bridge the large gap between Israel and Hamas.
Many families of the hostages say Trump has done more for them than Netanyahu, crediting the president with the ceasefire.
In December, before taking office, Trump demanded the hostages’ immediate release, saying if they weren’t freed before he was sworn in for his second term there would be “hell to pay.”
Phase one of the deal began weeks later, and saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Instead, he tried to force Hamas to accept a new ceasefire plan put forth by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
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