The first image released from Gaza of Edan Alexander, who was released from Hamas captivity on May 12, 2025. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The release, conducted Monday evening in Gaza, may inaugurate a new phase in the hostage crisis that has consumed Israel since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, taking 251 captives and opening the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who until recently most thought was no longer living, thought was dead, is going to be released in about two hours,\u201d President Donald Trump said at a press conference Monday morning. \u201cHe\u2019s coming home to his parents, which is great news.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli media reported at 6:30 p.m. local time that Hamas said it had transferred Alexander to the Red Cross after 584 days in captivity. He was handed over to the Israeli military, which brought him to Israel. There, he was due to meet his parents Adi and Yael Alexander, as well as other family members, and will undergo medical examinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an out of body experience, it\u2019s very exciting, we couldn\u2019t sleep all night,\u201d Adi Alexander said in a phone interview broadcast on Israeli Channel 12. \u201cI saw the picture, he\u2019s handsome, standing on his feet. That\u2019s what\u2019s important\u2026 He\u2019s a little pale, thin, but a tall boy. This is my boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He vowed to keep advocating for the rest of the hostages held by Hamas.<\/p>\n
Hostage releases have happened before, but this was the first that was arranged directly between the terror group and the United States \u2014 without Israel\u2019s knowledge or involvement. It is also the first time Hamas has released a living male Israeli soldier on active duty. And it means that, as of now, for the first time in more than a year and a half, there are no living Americans who are still held hostage in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Alexander was born to Israeli parents living in Tenafly, New Jersey, and enlisted in the Israeli military. He was serving as a soldier on the Gaza border when he was taken captive in Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack at age 19. Alexander, Channel 12 reported, acted as an English-language interpreter between other hostages and their Hamas captors.<\/p>\n
Crowds waited in tense anticipation in the hours ahead of Alexander\u2019s release, in Israel, Tenafly and elsewhere. His impending release was announced over the weekend and came as a surprise. It is unclear what Alexander\u2019s release means for the future of the war in Gazam and for the 58 other hostages still held there \u2014 up to 23 of whom are thought to still be alive. In recent days Trump has said that three of the hostages thought to be living had died.<\/p>\n
Israel announced on Monday that it was sending a negotiation team to Qatar on Tuesday to continue negotiations over the remaining hostages. Israeli media also reported that following the deal for Alexander\u2019s release, Israel would let humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time in two months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf confirmed, Edan\u2019s release must mark the beginning of a broader agreement to secure the freedom of all remaining hostages,\u201d the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing relatives of most of the hostages, said in a statement ahead of Alexander\u2019s release. \u201cWe pray that this is not just the beginning of Edan\u2019s return, but of the return of all 59 hostages. No one should be left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not party to the negotiations over Alexander, vowed that the war would continue. He recently said that achieving a military victory in Gaza was more important than returning the hostages, even as polls show that most Israelis believe the opposite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists but only to a safe corridor that will allow for the release of Edan,\u201d Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday. \u201cWe are in the midst of critical days in which Hamas has been presented with a deal that would enable the release of our hostages. The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, a space dedicated to awareness and advocacy for the captives, a crowd waited for news of Alexander\u2019s return to Israel. There, Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, an American Israeli whose body is being held by Hamas along with those of three other U.S. citizens, praised Trump and compared him favorably to Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister needs to learn what leadership is, and what prioritization is, from the American president,\u201d Chen told Israeli Channel 12. \u201cI hope the prime minister understands what leadership is, what it is to see what\u2019s really important. We\u2019ve always felt that the U.S. administration, the current and former one, have given us the feeling they\u2019re doing everything to bring the hostages home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The release comes as Trump embarks on a trip to the Middle East. Reports emerged on Monday that Alexander and his family would fly to Qatar \u2014 a patron of Hamas and key player in hostage talks \u2014 to meet with Trump, who will visit the Gulf nation.<\/p>\n
Trump currently has no plans to visit Israel on the trip. The talks with Hamas are one among a number of steps the White House has taken in the region that have raised Israelis\u2019 anxieties that their country is being frozen out of Trump\u2019s plans for the Middle East. Over the weekend, shortly before the announcement of Alexander\u2019s release, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, downplayed reports of a rift between Netanyahu and Trump.<\/p>\n
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