Handcuffed in a cage, held in dark tunnels & starved: Freed hostage Edan Alexander shares of abuse by Hamas captors

Following his release, Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American soldier kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, shared details about the difficult treatment he suffered during his captivity in Gaza, Israeli media reported.

Alexander told the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and staff members at the Re'im absorption facility, who received him from the Red Cross, that he suffered torture at the hands of Hamas, including being handcuffed in a cage and deprived of sufficient food. 

On Oct. 7, Edan was kidnapped from the Kibbutz Nir Oz area. For several weeks after his kidnapping, he was held alongside other hostages in the southern Gaza Strip, including Matan Zangauker, in a tunnel without daylight. Due to his status as a soldier, Edan was questioned repeatedly, and often violently, in order to obtain information. 

He said that Hamas used both physical and mental abuse against him and other captives. He also reported being isolated by himself for long periods. 

Alexander described being held in a cage, handcuffed by his hands and feet, severely weakening him. During his release, both Hamas and the Red Cross had to help him walk and get into the vehicle that transported him to the IDF, due to weakness from malnutrition and the prolonged binding. 

Edan said that Hamas recently started to give him more food, after a significant period of deprivation for most of his time in captivity. Other hostages, released earlier this year, also shared similar accounts of malnutrition, with a brief period of increased feeding leading up to their release. 

Edan shared that his Hamas captors began to call him by the name “The American” in recent weeks, indicating that they understood how he could be used for leverage in negotiations with the United States. 

Reports in Israeli media noted that Edan was released in civilian clothes, instead of olive green army-style clothing, like the previous soldiers, at the request of the U.S. negotiators. 

In a video shared by the family, Edan spoke to his mother on the phone from the IDF facility where he was first received, telling her, “I’m fine.” 

The first person who Edan spoke to – apart from the IDF soldiers who received him – was White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who welcomed his release and passed the phone over to Edan’s mother, Yael Alexander. 

On the helicopter ride to the hospital, Edan held up a sign in English, which said, “Thank you, President Trump!” followed by the message in Hebrew, “The people of Israel live!” 

Alexander was the last living hostage to hold U.S. citizenship.

The remains of four other deceased Israeli-American hostages are also being held by Hamas in Gaza: Omer Neutra, Itai Chen, and married couple Gadi Hagai and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagai. The White House has requested that their remains also be released.