Austin Tice's mother asks Israel to share its intelligence on his fate
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Debra Tice at the National Press Club in August, 2025. Photo: Alex Wroblewsk/AFP via Getty
Debra Tice, the mother of American journalist Austin Tice who went missing in Syria thirteen years ago, is asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow her to review all the information Israel's intelligence services have gathered about her son's whereabouts.
Why it matters: After the fall of the Assad regime one year ago, the search for Tice was relaunched with greater urgency by his family, the U.S. government and private NGOs. His family is holding out hope that he is still alive somewhere in Syria.
- U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard allowed the Tice family to review all the raw intelligence the U.S. had gathered over the years about Austin's case in April.
- But the most recent information the U.S. intelligence community had about his whereabouts was from Oct. 2024, six weeks before the collapse of the Assad regime.
- The Tice family hopes Israel's intelligence services have more updated information or informants in the former Assad regime that are now in exile and can shed light on Austin's fate.
Behind the scenes: The Tice family spent more than 15 hours in an intelligence community facility near Washington D.C. in April and reviewed several thick binders containing intelligence about Austin. They also received briefings from intelligence community experts, who provided context for the reports in the binders.
- A source with knowledge said that during the review, the family read numerous reports that were sourced to Israeli intelligence services.
- The Tice family believes the Israelis might have more information on Austin.
- Lt. Col. (res.) Avi Kalo, who served as the head of the hostages department in the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Directorate, told Axios that over the years, the Israeli intelligence community received indications that the Assad regime security apparatus was involved in Austin Tice's case.
- "As a rule, information on the matter was shared with the U.S. intelligence community and helped shape the assessment regarding his condition and the parties responsible for the well-being and captivity of the American citizen," Kalo said.
What she's saying: "It is no secret that the Israeli government has the best intelligence services in the world. Given that the U.S. government was open enough to share all of its classified data on our son, we are hoping that the Israeli government will do the same," Debra Tice told Axios in an interview.
- "We humbly request that Prime Minister Netanyahu invite us to Israel to view all of the intelligence the Israeli government has regarding my son Austin Tice."
- She stressed the family deeply appreciates Gabbard's decision to allow it to review the U.S. intelligence files and hopes the Trump Administration "will continue its longstanding commitment to finding and securing Austin's release."
Flashback: Last December, Debra Tice exchanged letters with Netanyahu regarding her son's fate.
- Tice wrote to Netanyahu that she had "credible information" that her son might be held in a prison near Damascus and asked him to pause the Israeli bombing campaign in Syria to allow rescuers to reach the site.
- Netanyahu wrote back and promised that Israel was not conducting airstrikes in areas of Syria where Tice might be located.
Editor's note: This story was updated with the comments from Avi Kalo.
