Hamas armed wing says it lost contact with group holding Israeli-US hostage Alexander

By Menna AlaaElDin and Jaidaa Taha

CAIRO (Reuters) - The armed wing of Hamas said on Tuesday it had lost contact with a group of militants holding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ubaida, the armed wing's spokesperson, said on the Telegram that it lost contact after the Israeli army attacked the place where the militants were holding Alexander, who is a New Jersey native and a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

Abu Ubaida did not say where in Gaza Alexander was purportedly held. The armed wing later released a video warning hostages families that their "children will return in black coffins with their bodies torn apart from shrapnel from your army".

Hamas has previously blamed Israel for the deaths of hostages held in Gaza, including as a direct result of military operations, while also acknowledging on at least one occasion that a hostage was killed by a guard. It said the guard had acted against instructions.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to a request for comment on the Hamas statement about Alexander.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House in March that gaining the release of Alexander, believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority for us".

The Tikva Forum, a group representing some family members of those held in Gaza, had said earlier on Tuesday that Alexander was among up to 10 hostages who could be released by Hamas if a new ceasefire was reached, citing a conversation a day earlier between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mother of another hostage. There was no immediate comment on that from Netanyahu's office.

On Saturday Hamas released a video purportedly showing Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023.

The release of Alexander was at the centre of earlier talks held between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler last month.

Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel's military resumed its ground and aerial offensive on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.

Israeli officials say that offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Jaidaa Taha; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)