Hamas releases last living American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander

Hamas freed Edan Alexander without parading him as it has with other captives, with his release a clear diplomatic victory for Donald Trump as he heads to the Middle East.

Hamas released the last remaining living American hostage in Gaza on Monday, marking a diplomatic win for the Trump administration that has brought mixed reactions in Israel.

Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who was captured while serving near the border with Gaza, was released as part of a deal between the US and Hamas, according to officials involved in his release. Israel had said that it would allow for a safe corridor for Alexander’s exit from the enclave but that it wouldn’t be giving Hamas anything for his freedom.

Hamas still holds the bodies of four slain American-Israelis taken during its assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The US is also working on their release.

Prepare to sob. The moment Edan Alexander reunited with his family after 584 days in captivity 🥹 pic.twitter.com/stv32Sah5b

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 12, 2025

Hamas freed Alexander without a release ceremony as it has done with previous hostages, parading them on stages in front of crowds, which angered Israel.

He was handed over to the Red Cross and then to Israeli forces before being flown by helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities released video and photos showing a pale but smiling Alexander in an emotional reunion with his mother and other family members.

Alexander’s mother Yael spoke by phone with her son before they met.

“You’re out, my love, you’re out!” she exclaimed over the phone in a video shared by the Prime Minister’s Office. “You are strong. You are safe, You are home. We’ll see each other soon. I love you.”

Negotiations are also on track between Hamas and Israel for a pause in fighting that would see the release of additional hostages and allow humanitarian aid to resume entering Gaza after a two-month blockade, according to Arab officials. Israel will send a team to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday as part of efforts to clinch a deal, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

The negotiations to stop the fighting come as a global hunger watchdog said on Monday that Gaza isn’t expected to cross the threshold into famine in the months ahead, though it remains at critical risk. A group of experts called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said nearly half a million people are facing starvation in Gaza, a major deterioration since its last assessment late last year.

Hundreds of friends, family and residents gather in Edan Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, to watch his release. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

President Trump had given priority to Alexander’s release. It marks a clear diplomatic victory for the president as he is set to travel to the Middle East this week on his first trip since being re-elected. He isn’t set to stop in Israel.

21-year-old American-Israeli Edan Alexander arrives at the initial receiving point in Re'im and is reunited with his mother and father as well as other members of his family, after over 584 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/El3rUXezuk

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 12, 2025

“I’m 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,” Trump said Monday.

Trump had previously believed that most of the hostages in Gaza were dead, according to Alexander’s father, who told him in a meeting in October 2024 that most were actually believed to be alive, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

In Israel, the reaction to Alexander’s release has been complex. While Israelis are happy to see a hostage be freed, many are disappointed that an American’s release was given priority over the rest of the captives. Former hostages and families of hostages remaining in Gaza have criticised deals that bring only a few captives home at a time in exchange for temporary ceasefires. Instead, they have advocated for a deal that would free all the remaining hostages and bodies held by Hamas in exchange for an end to the war.

The US deal also brought domestic complications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many Israelis felt it showed that Netanyahu wasn’t doing enough to free hostages. On the right, there were fears that Netanyahu would cave to US pressure to ink a broader deal that would end the war before Israel has decisively defeated Hamas.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said Monday that Alexander’s release was achieved thanks to Israel’s military pressure with the backing of Trump and that Israel didn’t commit to releasing militants or to providing a ceasefire in return.

Relatives of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander arrive ahead of his scheduled release from Hamas captivity in Gaza. Picture: AP.

Alexander was expected to be met on Monday by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Alexander’s mother, who travelled to Israel with Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler.

Alexander’s release had been a priority for the Trump administration, which has placed hostage diplomacy around the world at the forefront of its foreign policy, freeing captive Americans from places such as Russia and Afghanistan. Senior American officials have travelled to Doha in recent months to secure Alexander’s release, according to Arab officials.

Israel is known to do everything in its power to bring hostages and captured soldiers home. The country has historically been willing to pay high prices for slain captive soldiers and is known for daring hostage-rescue missions such as the Entebbe raid in 1976, during which Netanyahu’s brother died.

Going against this ethos is painful for many in Israel.

“My Nimrod doesn’t have a foreign citizenship. My Nimrod is 100 per cent Israeli. Nimrod also deserves to come home,” said Viki Cohen, mother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, 20, who remains in Gaza and is believed to be alive.

While Witkoff tells families in private meetings that he is committed to bringing home all the hostages, many worry that their relatives could be left behind since they will be a lower priority once Alexander and the four slain Americans are retrieved from Gaza.

Polls in Israel show that a large majority of the public supports an end to the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages in the enclave, which includes more than 20 who Israel believe could be alive and over 30 dead bodies. Hostage families take to the streets every week to pressure the government to end the war and release their relatives, and criticise Netanyahu for refusing to end the fighting.

Alexander’s release “shows that a determined leader is committed to his citizens,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents the captives, said referring to Trump. “Prime Minister, what about your commitment to the remaining 58 hostages,” the forum asked of Netanyahu.

Dow Jones