Hamas releases video of NJ hostage held over 420 days

🚨 Tenafly High School grad is among Hamas hostages

🚨 Edan Alexander addresses Israeli prime minister and President-elect Trump.

🚨 White House says a deal is on the table now

TENAFLY — On Saturday, Hamas released a video of New Jersey native Edan Alexander who has been held as a hostage since the Oct. 7, 2023 surprise terror attack on Israel.

Alexander graduated from Tenafly High School in 2023 and, at 19 years old, joined the Israeli military. Now 20, the Israeli-American remains among the 100 people held in captivity by the terrorist organization in Palestine.

Varda Ben Baruch, whose grandson Edan Alexander is held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants, poses for a portrait in his bedroom at home in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

The video is the first time Alexander's family has heard from him in over 400 days. His mother Yael Alexander said the video gives them hope at a rally in Tel Aviv, Reuters first reported.

"But it also shows how difficult it is for Edan and for the other hostages, and how much they are crying out and praying for us to rescue them," she said.

Varda Ben Baruch gestures to a Torah scroll in his bedroom at home in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Edan Alexander appears in hostage video

In the new video, Alexander said he prayed to see them every day.

"Please be strong. It is only a matter of time until this nightmare ends," Alexander said.

Alexander also addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump.

A screenshot from the video of Edan Alexander released by Hamas (Hamas, BringHomeNow via Instagram)

He called on Trump to use the "full power" of the United States to negotiate for the hostages' release.

"Every day here feels like an eternity and the pain from inside grows from day to day," Alexander says. "I don't want to end up dead like my fellow U.S. citizen Hersh."

The haunting words refer to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was also taken hostage. His family confirmed his death in September.

Edan Alexander (Hamas, BringHomeNow via Instagram)

White House responds to hostage video

Gov. Phil Murphy on social media called for Alexander's safe return.

"I join the Alexander family in urging both the Biden Administration and incoming Trump Administration to do everything possible to quickly facilitate an agreement that brings him home safe," Murphy said.

The Biden administration said Saturday that a deal was on the table to release the hostages and end the war.

"The hostage video released today of American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander is a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own," said National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

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