Father of American hostage held by Hamas says Lebanon attacks treat ‘agony with more agony’

By Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — The father of an American hostage still being held in Gaza by Hamas criticized the deadly attacks in Lebanon that caused pagers and walkie-talkies to explode killing dozens, stating “this pager, mission-impossible action, it’s like treating agony with more agony.”

Adi Alexander, whose son Edan Alexander is being held, said in an interview on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” that “this vicious cycle of violence needs to stop.”

Israel has not officially taken credit for the attacks, but CNN has reported that Tuesday’s operation was a joint effort between the IDF and Mossad.

Alexander sat down with Tapper along with other family members of Americans being held by the terror group on Wednesday as the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack approaches. As it stands the prospects of a deal being agreed that would free the hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza seem remote.

Instead, the conflict appears to be spreading. On Thursday Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and on Wednesday Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated  a “new era” of war is beginning.

On the ceasefire negotiations, Alexander called for President Joe Biden to “have a tight conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him to “stop moving the goalposts and stop undercutting your own negotiating team.”

“This conversation needs to happen as soon as possible,” he added.

Netanyahu is scheduled to be in New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly, but a source told CNN that he will not meet with Biden.

Biden has previously suggested that Netanyahu is drawing out the conflict for the sake of his own political survival.

Iris Weinstein Haggai, whose parents were killed on October 7, said the US government needs to do more.

“It’s just unacceptable that we’re not doing all we can to push all countries and [the] international community to pressure Hamas and release these innocent hostages who are rotting,” Weinstein Haggai said.

Several of the hostage families are in Washington this week, just under three weeks from the anniversary of the October 7 attacks. The families met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday, where they “expressed frustration with the lack of tangible progress” in ceasefire talks, according to a readout of their meeting.

Their visit comes weeks after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from Hamas-controlled tunnels in Gaza. Days before Goldberg-Polin’s death was confirmed, his parents made a plea for their son’s return at the Democratic National Convention.

Ronen Neutra, the father of Omer Neutra, said on Wednesday he was “horrified” by Goldberg-Polin’s death.

“Where is the outrage? How can it be that an American was murdered, and yet people are in the streets in New York cheering for Hamas? It’s the same organization (that) just killed an American,” he said. “So in that regard, where is the outrage?

“As far as Prime Minister Netanyahu? I don’t think I have much expectations from him I’m afraid,” Neutra added. “What he says out of Israel in front of the American public and what he says in Israel that those two don’t correlate.”

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of another American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, said his expectations for a breakthrough in negotiations “are low.”

“All Israelis are done listening to Prime Minister Netanyahu because clearly there’s a gap between what he says in terms of his commitment to getting the hostages home and his actions,” Dekel-Chen added.

“It’s clear to me, at least that he’s coming to the United Nations certainly for domestic consumption in Israel,” he said. “What he says there, I’m not sure that anyone is going to be listening unfortunately in the General Assembly.”

“It’s just unacceptable that we’re not doing all we can to push all countries and [the] international community to pressure Hamas and release these innocent hostages who are rotting,” he said.

CNN’s Eugenia Yosef and Arlette Saenz contributed.

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