A mother and son's last conversation

Edan Alexander is the type of son who regularly calls his mother.

So when he didn't return her calls after the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, Yael Alexander knew something was terribly wrong. The 19-year-old from New Jersey volunteered to serve in the Israeli army last year following his high school graduation. He was near the Gaza Strip when Hamas attackers stormed the Israeli border, killing 1,400 people, kidnapping 240 people and wounding scores more.

When the attack began, his mother was in Tel Aviv and reached out after hearing something terrible had happened down South. They connected and Edan reassured he was okay despite the fact there were bombs going off all around him. She didn't realize at the time it would be their last conversation.

After a week, Israeli officials informed the Alexanders that Edan had been kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza. Since then, they have asked repeatedly about his whereabouts or well-being, but there's been no news.

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