GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Hamas’ armed wing released a video on Saturday showing an Israeli-American hostage alive, in which he criticizes the Israeli government for failing to secure his release.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified him as Edan Alexander, a soldier in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was abducted by Palestinian militants during their 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

Agence France-Presse was unable to determine when the video was filmed.

Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, published the more than three-minute clip showing the hostage seated in a small, enclosed space.

In the video, he says he wants to return home to celebrate the holidays.

Israel is currently marking Passover, the holiday that commemorates the biblical liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Alexander, who turned 21 in captivity, was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the US state of New Jersey, returning to Israel after high school to join the army.

“As we begin the holiday evening in the USA, our family in Israel is preparing to sit around the Seder table,” Alexander’s family said in a statement released by the forum.

“Our Edan, a lone soldier who immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Golani Brigade to defend the country and its citizens, is still being held captive by Hamas.”

“When you sit down to mark Passover, remember that this is not a holiday of freedom as long as Edan and the other hostages are not home,” the family added.

The family did not give a green light for the media to broadcast the footage.