Adi and Yael Alexander – the parents of Edan Alexander, one of the six remaining American hostages in Gaza – have issued the following statement on the eve of Edan’s 20th birthday.
“Edan turns 20 tomorrow. He will spend his birthday in the hands of Hamas terrorists, who stole him from us on October 7. His birthday will mark 84 days since Edan was taken while defending the Gaza border as a member of the Israeli Defense Force. Edan was raised in New Jersey, but he chose to serve in the IDF to defend Israel because he believed it is the right thing to do. We are proud of his selflessness, courage, and loyalty, and we miss his laugh and sense of humor, which brighten every room. He deserves to be celebrating his birthday tomorrow with his little brother and sister. Instead, he is being held captive in the dark. As his parents, we fear for his life every day as we learn about hostages being tortured, abused, and starved, and we pray for his strength until he is brought home.
“We implore the Israeli government, Qatar, Egypt and all the regional partners involved to bring him home immediately, and we ask President Biden to keep the pressure on these governments. We want nothing more than to celebrate Edan’s birthday with him soon, and we won’t stop pushing until every hostage is home to celebrate all the holidays, birthdays, births, and other important life events that have passed since October 7. The situation is dire, and we are running out of time. We need to bring him and others being held home now.”
