Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reassured the mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for 12 years, that the IDF is not conducting airstrikes in areas where he could be held, according to a letter obtained by Walla.
“Rest assured that Israel and its intelligence agencies are fully coordinated with the relevant US authorities on the matter and that the IDF is not active in the area where Austin may be,” the letter, dated December 17, stated.
An Israeli official emphasized the continued collaboration and coordination between the Israeli and US governments regarding Tice’s case, including in the recent weeks.
On Monday, Debra Tice, Austin’s mother, sent a letter to Netanyahu expressing that she has “reliable information” suggesting that her son may be detained in a prison near Damascus. She urged Netanyahu to stop the airstrikes to allow rescue efforts to reach the area.
Since the beginning of December, Israel has carried out multiple airstrikes in Syria targeting advanced weaponry and ammunition depots belonging to the Syrian military.
The Biden administration has maintained the belief that Tice is still alive and that he is being held by the Assad regime in one of Syria’s many detention facilities.
Following the fall of the Assad regime, thousands of detainees, including at least one American, were released from Syrian prisons.
The Biden administration, Tice’s family, and organizations working to locate him are hopeful that the opening of prisons and the release of Syrian intelligence documents will provide new leads on his whereabouts.
Nizar Zakka, the founder and president of Hostage Aid Worldwide, who has strong ties with senior members of the Trump administration, recently arrived in Syria to search for Austin Tice.
While expressing gratitude for Netanyahu’s support for Tice’s mother, Zakka pointed out that similar promises had been made to the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, some of whom were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Zakka explained that Israeli airstrikes have complicated efforts by his team and others to locate Tice, stating, “Some of the places we visited around Damascus were bombed by the IDF the following day. This complicated our work here. It made the rebels much more suspicious and made it harder for us to get permission to conduct searches at military bases.”
{Matzav.com}
