US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, in Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has become aware that fewer than 24 hostages are still alive in Gaza, heightening urgency to rescue the remaining survivors in the war-torn enclave. 

“Out of 59, you had 24 that were living, and now I understand that it’s not even that number,” Trump said during a National Day of Prayer event at the White House.

For several months, Israeli officials have stated that 24 of the 59 hostages who remain in captivity were believed to still be alive in Gaza. However, during a public appearance earlier this week, Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed the actual number was lower than the official count. 

During his remarks on the White House lawn acknowledging the National Day of Prayer, Trump extended sympathies to the family of Edan Alexander, the final American hostage still believed to be alive in Gaza. Alexander’s parents, Adi and Yael, were seated in the audience during Trump’s speech.

“We don’t know how he’s doing, really…. We think we know, and hopefully [it’s] positive,” Trump said, referencing Alexander’s uncertain condition. “Two months ago, we were pretty sure. It looked like he was getting out. But they’ve toughened up a little bit. And it’s a terrible thing, I know, what you’re going through.”

Trump expressed support for the families of the remaining hostages still in Gaza, acknowledging their emotional turmoil.

“We’re working very, very hard to save your son,” he continues. “We have news coming out — both good and bad.”

Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native and soldier in the Israeli army, was taken hostage by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. More than 250 people were kidnapped as hostages during the onslaught.

Alexander’s unknown fate has drawn a great deal of attention in both the US and Israel due to his American citizenship. 

In April, Hamas released a video of Alexander showing the IDF solider alive. However, days later, the terrorist group claimed to lack knowledge of Alexander’s fate, saying that they lost contact with the guards holding him hostage after the location was allegedly hit in an Israeli airstrike.

The post Trump Says Fewer Than 24 Hostages Still Alive in Gaza, Offers Sympathies to Family of Edan Alexander first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The fourth round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, which were set to take place in Rome this weekend, have been postponed, with a new date yet to be announced amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced that the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks with US officials, originally scheduled for May 3, had been postponed at the suggestion of the Omani Foreign Minister, who mediated previous negotiations between the two adversaries.

In a post on X, the top Omani diplomat, Badr Albusaidi, confirmed that the upcoming talks had been delayed, stating that new dates will be announced once both sides reach a mutual agreement.

“For logistical reasons, we are rescheduling the US-Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday, May 3rd,” Albusaidi said.

For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3rd. New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.

— Badr Albusaidi – بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) May 1, 2025

Earlier on Thursday, Iran accused Washington of “contradictory behavior and provocative statements” following remarks by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who warned Tehran of severe consequences for supporting Yemen’s Houthi militia, an internationally designated terrorist group.

The Iran-backed group, which controls northern Yemen, has been targeting ships in the Red Sea since November 2023, disrupting global trade, while justifying the attacks as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Iran’s accusation against Washington also comes after the US imposed new oil-related sanctions on Tehran this week, as US President Donald Trump continued pursing negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program.

As part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran — which aims to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon — Washington has been targeting Tehran’s oil industry with mounting sanctions.

“US sanctions on Iran during the nuclear talks are not helping the sides to resolve the nuclear dispute through diplomacy,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters. “Depending on the US approach, the date of the next round of talks will be announced.”

Last month, the two adversaries held their first official nuclear negotiation since the US withdrew from a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that had imposed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.

The first and third rounds of talks were held in Oman, while the second round took place in Rome at the residence of the Omani ambassador.

Tehran has previously rejected halting its uranium enrichment program, insisting that the country’s right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable, despite Washington’s threats of military action, additional sanctions, and tariffs if an agreement is not reached to curb Iran’s nuclear activities.

However, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that any deal with Iran must require the complete dismantling of its “nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.” Witkoff’s comments came after he received criticism for suggesting the Islamic Republic would be allowed to maintain its nuclear program in a limited capacity.

Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapon development, Western states have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”

The post US-Iran Nuclear Talks Postponed Amid Rising Tensions first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A Los Angeles Police Department vehicle. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Authorities in Los Angeles are investigating the homicides of two Israeli men found dead in their homes within a 24-hour span on Saturday, raising concern within the local Jewish community and prompting a probe into possible links between the cases.

Over the weekend, Meni Khidra, an Israeli businessman, was discovered dead in his apartment in Valley Village, located in the San Fernando Valley, after officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) conducted a welfare check on Saturday afternoon following reports from family members who were unable to reach him.

After arriving at his residence, emergency personnel pronounced Khidra dead at the scene. Local police have launched a homicide investigation, but so far, no suspects have been arrested.

As the investigation continues, the LAPD has not yet disclosed Khidra’s cause of death or the nature of his injuries, and it remains unclear whether a firearm or knife was involved.

Earlier on Saturday morning, Alexander Modvadze, a 47-year-old Israeli-American businessman, was also found dead in his home in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood near the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley.

Local police said the attack appeared to be premeditated and was staged to look like a robbery. After arriving at his residence, medical personnel found Modvadze with severe head trauma from a brutal beating and pronounced him dead at the scene.

“We found very unusual signs at the scene that indicate murder,” detectives from the Valley Police said in a statement. “We believe that the fact that there were people in the house who fled shortly before the body was found suggests that the incident was criminal, and we are working to locate the suspects involved.”

As the LAPD launched an investigation into Modvadze’s homicide, local law enforcement arrested three Georgian nationals — Pata Kuchiyashvili (38), Zaza Otarashvili (46), and Besiki Khutsishvili (52) — who allegedly broke into Modvadze’s home, held him captive for several hours, and brutally assaulted him before fleeing with stolen property.

With assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the suspects were apprehended within hours and are being held on $2 million bail each.

Local authorities are continuing to investigate possible connections between the two cases, though no evidence has been found to suggest a link. The LAPD is actively collecting forensic evidence and witness statements from both Valley Village and Woodland Hills, urging anyone with relevant information to contact them.

The post Los Angeles Police Investigate Homicides of Two Israeli Men Found Dead Within 24 Hours first appeared on Algemeiner.com.