Edan Alexander’s parents revealed Monday that they missed eight calls telling them their son was finally being released by Hamas terrorists — and that they nearly knocked him over when they were finally reunited because he was “so weak.”
The 21-year-old Israeli-American from New Jersey was freed last Monday after enduring more than 19 months of unimaginable horror at the hands of the terror group.
But his dad, Adi Alexander, told ABC News that he nearly missed news of the high-profile release altogether.
“My phone was on silent and I was working with the blower outside and it was too noisy,” he said.
When he finally checked his phone, Adi said he was hit with a barrage of missed calls from President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was involved in the negotiations with the terror group.
“I saw those eight missed calls and called them back immediately,” Adi said, adding that Witkoff informed him and his wife that Hamas would be breaking the news within 10 minutes.
Speaking about the emotional moment they were eventually reunited, Alexander’s mother said she nearly knocked her son to the ground because he was “so weak” from his 584 days in captivity.
Heart wrenching video captured the moment a hysterical Yael Alexander was filmed running to embrace her son, who was serving with the Israeli military when he was taken hostage, after he was cut loose.
“I start running and screaming and I hug him so tight, you know, to my body, and we almost fell because he was so weak,” Yael told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” of their first reconciliation.
“I was so excited just to see him and to feel him and just to tell him … ‘I love you and we were worried sick.’
“It was such a pure joy,” she added.
Alexander, who was the last living American held hostage by Hamas before he was freed, was starved and severely tortured during his time in captivity.
At times, the IDF soldier was often locked in a cage and shackled at the hands and feet deep within the terrorists’ underground tunnel network.
“He’s still weak. He needs time,” the mom said of his long road to recovery.
Asked if their son has been able to open up about what he’d endured, his concerned father said they were letting him take his time.
“No rush, we’re not pushing. He went through a lot,” Adi said.
Alexander was 19 when he was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas had announced its intention to release Alexander last week — claiming it was a goodwill gesture for Trump in a bid to try to revive talks on ending the war.
“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!” Trump said on social media shortly after news broke of his release.
Read the full article here