Hamas releases US hostage in ‘goodwill gesture’ towards Trump administration

Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip: An Israeli-American soldier held hostage for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip has been released by Hamas in what the Trump administration called a goodwill gesture that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel.

The Israeli military confirmed that Edan Alexander was turned over to the Red Cross and then to Israeli forces.

Supporters in Tel Aviv await the release of Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza.Credit: Getty Images

Wearing shirts emblazoned with his name, Alexander’s extended family gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the release. They cheered and chanted his name when the military said he was free. His grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, beamed. In Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, hundreds of people broke into cheers.

Alexander was 19 when he was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza. His release was the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, unleashing fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds.

Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing the territory and displacing much of its population again. Days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade isn’t lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel’s terms.

Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with about 23 of them said to be alive. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed in ceasefire deals.

Red Cross vehicles carrying American-Israeli hostage and soldier Edan Alexander leave the Gaza Strip after he was handed over to the organisation.Credit: AP

Television footage showed Alexander’s mother, Yael Alexander, arriving at the Reim military base in southern Israel, where her son was expected to be taken first.

Hamas announced its intention to release Alexander, shortly before US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in the Middle East on Tuesday (US time) on the first official foreign trip of his second term.

Trump had called the planned release “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”.

“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!” Trump said on social media.

Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was abducted and taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023.Credit: AP

Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but is not scheduled to stop in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday to discuss the release the remaining hostages, his office said.

“To this end, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed that a negotiations team leave for Doha tomorrow,” the prime minister’s office said, adding that Netanyahu had “made it clear that the negotiations would only take place under fire”.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, welcomed the news that an Israeli delegation was headed to Doha for talks.

“While Edan Alexander’s release gives us hope, all 58 of our loved ones must come home. Time is running out. These negotiations must bring everyone back,” the group said in a statement. “Trump’s plan offers a real path to freeing all hostages immediately. Every passing day puts their lives at greater risk. We cannot wait any longer.”

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Israel was not granting any concessions for Alexander’s release.

The statement said Israel did not commit to a ceasefire or the freeing of Palestinian prisoners as part of the release and that it had only agreed to create a “safe corridor” to allow for Alexander to be returned.

The statement said Israel would carry on with plans to ramp up its offensive in Gaza. Israel says it won’t launch that plan until after Trump’s visit to the Middle East, to allow for a potential new ceasefire deal to emerge.

Hamas-led militants killed 1200 people in the 2023 attack. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians.

Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swaths of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90 per cent of the population, often multiple times.

AP

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