Hamas released Edan Alexander, the last living American Israeli hostage, on Monday, more than 580 days after the terrorist group took him.
The terrorist group handed the 21-year-old American over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, which is in the southern part of Gaza, and it will bring him to Israel, where he will reunite with his family and receive medical attention. Alexander’s mother, Yael, traveled to Israel and arrived at Re’im military base near the Gaza border to reunite with her son.
A New Jersey native, Alexander moved to Israel at the age of 18 and was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was captured from his base during the Oct. 7 attack.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Hamas had agreed to free Alexander, though the U.S.-designated terrorist group has routinely pulled out of possible deals at the last minute.
“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday.
“In his meeting with Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee, the Prime Minister spoke about the latest effort to implement the framework for the release of the hostages presented by Envoy Witkoff, before the expansion of the fighting. To this end, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed that a negotiations team leave for Doha tomorrow,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office reads.
Excluding Alexander, Hamas still holds 58 hostages, whom they’ve held since Oct. 7, 2023. About a third of the hostages are believed to be alive still. Four Americans are believed to be among the deceased still held by the group.
584 DAYS HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS — AMERICAN EDAN ALEXANDER IS FREE! ???? pic.twitter.com/3rvVqfPfdI
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2025
The Israeli negotiating team heading to Doha on Tuesday will be tasked with trying to secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages, though it’s unclear how the mediators will bridge the divides that have continued to prove too large to overcome.
Israel has demanded Hamas demilitarize and remove itself from power in Gaza, while the group has refused to give up its hold on the enclave to ensure the group’s survival.
Israeli forces have restarted significant military operations in Gaza in recent weeks following the collapse of negotiations to end the war. Israel also cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza, which it argues is a tactic to force Hamas to finalize a deal to end the war despite the international concerns of starvation and disease plaguing the civilian population.
HOUTHI ‘CAPITULATION’ AGAINST US DOESN’T END ISRAEL CONFLICT
Hamas’s release of Alexander was different from the previous releases. In the earlier releases, Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and these occurred during complete cessations of hostilities. This time around, this was a U.S.-Hamas deal that did not include Israel giving up any Palestinians held in Israeli detention.
“We are relieved that one more family has been reunited today. This nightmare however continues for the remaining hostages, their families, and hundreds of thousands of civilians across Gaza,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “We urgently need political will to save lives and reinstate the ceasefire. It is critical that civilians are spared from hostilities, humanitarian relief enters Gaza, and more families are reunited.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the war that began after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Much of the strip has been destroyed, and Trump administration officials have said it could take more than a decade to rebuild the infrastructure in Gaza.
