Hamas Armed Wing Says Fate of Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander Unknown

Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
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Hamas Armed Wing Says Fate of Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander Unknown

Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File

Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with a group of its members holding Alexander in Gaza after the Israeli army attacked the place where the militants were holding him.

Alexander is a New Jersey native and a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

"We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives ... but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy's army," the armed-wing Al-Qassam Brigades's spokesperson, Abu Ubaida, said, reiterating an accusation that Israel's army is to blame for the killing of hostages in the enclave, Reuters reported.

Israel has accused Hamas of killing hostages in its custody.

"The fate of the prisoner (hostage) and the rest of the captors remains unknown," Abu Ubaida added.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli army on Hamas's statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.

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

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".

Hamas so far released 38 hostages under a brief ceasefire that began on January 19.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in March after ceasefire talks stalled, with both sides blaming one another for the failure to reach an agreement.

Israel says its offensive in Gaza aims to release the remaining 59 hostages, while 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.



RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
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RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said.

The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.

El-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the RSF, who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, AFP reported.

"The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people," the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement.

In recent weeks, El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine.

Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan.

More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the UN's children agency.

"No child should ever experience such horrors," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now."

On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of El-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones.

Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis.

In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam, according to the UN.

Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains.

In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk.

The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to UN figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced.

Sudanese analyst Mohaned el-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict.

"Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan."

He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from El Fasher, where the military is trying "at all costs" to maintain.