Addressing the New York Times, Adi Alexander said that his 20 -year -old son had been handcuffed, beaten and questioned shortly after being taken hostage on October 7, 2023, during the cross -border assault in Hamas in Israel. At the time, Edan had only served 10 months in the FDI.
“There was nothing to question him,” said Adi. “They knew the arrangement of the FDI much better than him.”
At one point during the captivity of Edan, a tunnel collapsed around him, said his father, injuring Edan’s shoulder. He lost weight and became fragile after surviving for months on a sparse diet of flat bread, rice, brown grains and black coffee. PRIVED OF SUNLIGHT, EDAN’s skin has grown up and has developed red WELTS. “His whole body has bugs,” said his father. “His skin is in terrible condition.”
At the start of captivity, Edan’s kidnappers kept a bag above his head. Israeli air strikes constantly shaken the tunnels. “It was like an earthquake,” Edan told his parents.
Adi recalled the moment he learned that his son was released. Sunday afternoon, when he was at his home in Tenafly, New Jersey, he noticed eight missed calls from Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy in the Middle East. When they talked, Witkoff asked him to stand next to his wife and make the call to the speaker. “In about 10 minutes, Hamas announced the release of Edan,” said Witkoff.
The family immediately lit the television. “We have gone absolutely crazy,” said Adi.
Adi and his wife stole for Israel later during the day. On Monday evening, they found Edan at the Re’im military base. From there, the family was transported by plane by helicopter to the Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv. “We have the whole ground!” Adi said. “The whole family is there. It’s incredible. “
The video published by the IDF has shown that Edan had taken in tears while he was tightening his mother in his arms, then laughing when his sister Mika and his younger brother Roy entered.
“He was this clumsy and funny guy when he joined the army,” said Adi. “He’s always funny. I don’t think he’s a different person. He’s just tired.”
