Speaking at the US National Day of Prayer, US President Donald Trump revealed that less than 24 Israeli hostages are believed to be alive.
By Rachel Avraham
US President Donald Trump, speaking at the US National Day of Prayer, revealed that less than 24 Israeli hostages are still alive. “Out of 59 hostages, 24 are alive – but my understanding now is that that number is even smaller,” Trump said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
For months, Israel has said it believes 24 of the 59 hostages are alive, though earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara, interrupted him during a public event to say that the number was lower than the official figure, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, the prime minister had said there were “up to 24” living hostages.
According to Israel Hayom, President Trump also commented on the well-being of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. “Edan Alexander’s parents are here today. He is the last known living American hostage,” Trump said. “We don’t know how he’s doing…We think we know. And hopefully positive. Two months ago, we were pretty sure it looked like he was getting out, but they’ve toughened up a little bit and it’s a terrible thing.”
American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, an IDF soldier, has been starved, interrogated and tortured in captivity, recently released former hostages told his family, Haaretz reported. According to the report, Alexander had reportedly been held in a tunnel for over 500 days without exposure to sunlight, has lost a substantial amount of his body weight, and had also been held in chains for an extended period of time.
Israel Hayom reported that Trump reiterated his longstanding claim that the Oct. 7 massacre would not have occurred had he still been president, citing the sanctions he imposed on Iran. “Before I left the White House in 2021, Iran was ready to make a deal,” he said. “The pressure of the sanctions was unbearable.”
“Edan, a boy from New Jersey, moved to Israel in 2022 and was taken hostage in the brutal attack on the Jewish people on October 7,” Trump continued, the Jerusalem Post reported. “Now I tell you – this is an attack that would have never happened, because the money that went to Hamas, came from Iran.” During his speech, Trump said that Iran was a broke country and also stated that the US had imposed more sanctions on Iran, the Jerusalem Post added: “Any oil that anyone takes from Iran, they’re not allowed to do business in the United States.”
Addressing Edan’s parents, Adi and Yael, Trump said, Israel Hayom reported: “I cannot imagine your pain. But we are with you. We stand with you. We will do everything we can in a short time. Things are heating up there, as you know. We have managed to get many hostages out. They want to draw it out slowly. They are using them as bargaining chips. We’re working very hard to save your son, we have news coming out, both good and bad.”
According to the Times of Israel, the president goes on to reiterate comments he regularly makes about his interactions with released hostages; what they shared with him about the horrific conditions in which they were held; and how the parents of slain hostages are just as desperate to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones as the parents of captives who are still alive.
Aside from Edan Alexander, Haaretz reported that there are also four other American citizens in the Gaza Strip: Omer Neutra, 21 years old at the time of his death, a tank commander raised in Long Island, New York; Itay Hen, 19 years old at the time of his death, who served in the Armored Corps; Judy Weinstein-Haggai, 70, of Nir Oz, and her husband Gad Haggai, 73.
