At a vigil in Tenafly Wednesday night, the family of Edan Alexander pleaded for the release of their son.

The 19 year old is being held hostage by Hamas, along with more than 200 other Israeli and American Jews.

Alexander was serving with the Israel Army near the Gaza Strip on October 7th, when Hamas attackers stormed the border, raining down thousands of rockets and indiscriminately gunning down Israeli citizens in an unprecedented assault.

Several hundred people turned out to support the Tenafly high school graduate and his family at an event put on by the Israeli-American Council of New Jersey.

His parents and siblings sharing heartfelt words.

Friends spoke of Edan's resilience and sense of humor.

The family says they've been told he's alive and being held in Gaza, but have no other information.

It feels like my best friend was just taken away from me and I. I think I'm getting all the support from Tenafly high school that I could be getting.

And it's just so many people.

I mean, the fact that you guys are all here just shows the amount of support that we're getting through this community.

And it's just we're I've been saying this a lot.

We're just turning positivity and hope into action.

So far, Hamas has released just four hostages and the Israeli army rescued one hostage in a special operation.

The conflict, though, has grown increasingly deadly since the killing of 1400 Israelis.

Just over a month ago.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 4000 children.

Today, the White House said Israel has agreed to pause military operations in parts of northern Gaza for a four-hour period each day to allow Palestinians to flee south and receive aid.

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