Reminder: This NJ kid is still held hostage by terrorists in Gaza

Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old from Tenafly, New Jersey, has been held hostage by Hamas for over 500 days.

He is the last known American hostage still in captivity, and honestly, his name should be in the headlines every single day. His family is holding on to hope, but each day that passes without his safe return is another gut-wrenching reminder of the nightmare they’re living.

Edan was just 19 when he was taken during the horrific Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Born to Israeli parents, Edan moved to Israel after high school in Tenafly to serve in the military and defend the country in which his parents were born. He had his whole life ahead of him, and now his family is desperately waiting for him to come back home.

Edan is one of several Americans who were captured during that attack, and even though a ceasefire deal saw other hostages released, Edan was left behind. Because he was a soldier, he wasn’t included in the deal, and now there’s no clear timeline for his release. His family continues to hold out hope, but it’s hard to imagine the toll this has taken on them.

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Alexander, born to Israeli parents and raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, was taken captive in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack at age 19 while serving in the Israeli military on the Gaza border. After graduating from high school, he moved to Israel and enlisted.

Alexander was one of dozens of Americans captured or killed in Hamas’s attack and was one of 7 American Hostages — three living and four dead — to still be held in Gaza when the latest ceasefire began in mid-January.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who represents Tenafly, has been working to keep Edan’s name in the spotlight, even bringing his parents to a meeting with lawmakers to try and draw attention to their son’s situation. Meanwhile, there’s been talk of secret negotiations between the Trump administration and Hamas in an attempt to bring Edan home.

Hamas is still holding dead bodies—a sickening fact—so we have no idea if Edan is still alive. In November, the terrorist regime released a video of Edan speaking to the camera, so his parents are holding out hope that they will soon see their son alive and back in Israel.

It’s a sobering reminder of the brutality of the Hamas regime and that we should all be praying for Edan and all the hostages still waiting to return home. Let’s not forget them.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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