Middle East: Hamas releases new video of Israeli hostage

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the family of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander after the terror group released footage of the 20-year-old captive earlier this evening, the Times of Israel quoted the prime minister's office as saying.

During the call, Netanyahu told the family that he "really feels the anguish that Edan, the hostages and their families are going through."

He also reassured the family "that Israel is working resolutely and in every way possible" to bring about the release of the hostages."

Defense Minister Israel Katz also said he spoke with Alexander's family. "The cruel video that was published is part of psychological warfare, but it is an important and moving sign of life for us and his family," Katz wrote on X.

"The hostages and their families are enduring terrible suffering. I know this, and guarantee that in the security establishment, we are working tirelessly to bring all the hostages home," he added.

Hamas leaders were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, two officials from the group told Reuters news agency.

The meeting comes days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a  ceasefire in Lebanon.

It's the first visit from Hamas officials to Egypt since the United States announced earlier this week it would revive efforts for a Gaza ceasefire in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.

Any truce between Hamas and Israel is expected to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza and would likely see the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. A short break in fighting in November 2023 saw the release of 105 hostages from Gaza and about 240 Palestinians from Israel.

Hamas is seeking a ceasefire deal that would end the war while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would stick to its stated goal of eradicating Hamas.

US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it was "urgently seeking more details" after the Israeli military said it had targeted a WCK worker involved in the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

"We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza," the charity wrote on X, adding that it had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack.

World Central Kitchen also said that it was pausing operations in Gaza at this time.

The Israeli military said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah after detecting activity in southern Lebanon "that posed a threat," days after a ceasefire went into effect.

The Israeli military listed four separate incidents in a statement, including an air-force strike on "Hezbollah terrorists identified approaching Hezbollah structures in southern Lebanon."

The military also said it identified "terrorist activity in a Hezbollah facility with rocket launchers" in the area of Sidon in southern Lebanon and "struck the launchers."

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry said in a statement that an Israeli strike on a car wounded three people, including a 7-year-old child, in the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun.

Later Saturday, another person was injured in a separate Israeli strike on Al Bisariya, near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, the Health Ministry said.

A ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, but both sides have accused each other of violating a truce aimed at halting more than a year of fighting. 

The Israeli military confirmed that it had killed a Palestinian employee of the US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).

The army said in a statement that the worker was a "terrorist" who "infiltrated Israel and took part in the murderous October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz" and "worked for the WCK organization."

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that three World Central Kitchen workers were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a civilian vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The World Central Kitchen said it had suspended operations in Gaza after a vehicle carrying its members was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

In April, an Israeli airstrike killed seven WCK workers. Israel said it was targeting a "Hamas gunman" in the strike, but the military admitted to a series of "grave mistakes" and violations of its own rules of engagement.

A video of a man identifying himself as an Israeli hostage held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel has been released by the military wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In the video, the date of which cannot be verified, a man addresses US President-elect Donald Trump in English and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebrew.

Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage, also pleads with Trump to secure his release from captivity. There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities, who have previously described such videos as cruel psychological warfare.

About half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are believed to be alive, according to Israeli estimates. 

Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the German government, the EU, the US and some Arab states.

dh/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)