Austin Tices Mother Appeals to Netanyahu to Pause Strikes to Search for Son in Syrian Area

The mother of the missing American journalist Austin Tice has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in a letter that her family has “credible information” that Mr.Tice may be held in a prison outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, and urged the Israelis to pause military strikes in the area to allow rescuers to search the site.Mr.

Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, said in the letter, dated Dec.14 and addressed to Mr.

Netanyahu, that the prison was under a Syrian military museum in the mountainous Mount Qasioun area and had a tunnel that was connected to a neighborhood and a government palace.“We are aware that your military has an active campaign in the area, preventing rescuers from approaching and accessing the prison facility,” Ms.Tice wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.“We have no way of knowing if the prisoners there have food and water.

We urgently request you pause strikes on this area and deploy Israeli assets to search for Austin Tice and other prisoners.Time is of the essence.”Mr.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Israeli military has been bombing weapons depots and air defenses in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organization that tracks the conflict in Syria.Israel has said it wants to keep military equipment away from extremists.Mr.

Tice was abducted in 2012 outside Damascus as the country descended into civil war.The United States has said it believes he was being held by the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The Assad regime had long maintained that it was not holding Mr.Tice and had no information about him.Mr.

Tice’s family and the United States government have stepped up efforts to locate him since Dec.8, when rebel groups seized Damascus after overrunning several other major cities, and Mr.

al-Assad fled to Russia....