Hamas announced on Sunday that it will release the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier who was kidnapped on 7 October 2023.
The 21-year old’s release is set to take place on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Donald Trump begins a trip to the Middle East on the same day, although there is no stop in Israel on his schedule as of yet. The US president is set to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz he will travel to Israel on Monday. “Right now, the intention is to return Edan Alexander home to his family,” Witkoff said.
The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement: “The US has informed Israel of Hamas’s intention to release soldier Edan Alexander as a gesture to the Americans, without conditions or anything in exchange. The US has conveyed to Israel that this is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of hostages according to the original Witkoff framework, which Israel has already accepted. Israel is preparing for the possibility that this effort will be implemented.”
The statement made clear that Israel had not agreed to a ceasefire, and intends to continue its military assault on Gaza. “In accordance with Israel’s policy, the negotiations will be held under fire, based on the commitment to achieve all of the objectives of the war,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Israel will not be asked to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Alexander, Axios reports, but will have to agree to a temporary ceasefire and a halt to drone flights over Gaza to allow Alexander to safely leave the enclave.
Alexander’s family said in a statement released by the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum: “The family confirms that it has been informed of Hamas’s announcement and that it is in constant contact with the American government regarding the possibility of Edan’s expected release in the coming days.”
Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage affairs, told Reuters the planned release of Alexander was “a positive step forward” and asked for Hamas to also release of the bodies of four other Americans who have died in captivity in Gaza.
According to Haaretz, the four dead Americans include two who were serving in the Israeli military, Omer Neutra, 21, and Itay Hen, 19, and two older Israeli-Americans, Judih Weinstein-Haggai, 70, and her husband Gad Haggai, 73, were living in the Israeli kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border when it was raided by Hamas-led militants on 7 October.
Khalil al-Hayya, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said in a statement the group is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiation” to reach a final deal that will end Israel’s deadly war on Gaza.
Over the last year and a half, Israeli forces have killed at least 52,800 Palestinians while forcibly displacing 2 million survivors – including babies – across the narrow strip amid widespread food and aid shortages due to Israeli restrictions.
Meanwhile, 59 hostages remain in Gaza. According to Trump, just 21 remain alive.
The governments of Qatar and Egypt, which have been brokering talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza, said in a joint statement that Hamas’s decision to release Alexander “demonstrates goodwill” and is an “encouraging” step that could lead the parties back to the negotiating table.
Alexander, who was born in Israel but raised in the US by Israeli parents, moved to Israel in 2022 after graduating high school and enlisted in the Israeli military.
His parents and two younger siblings still live in Tenafly, New Jersey.
“Pray that Hamas follows through and Edan gets to come home,” JD Vance, the US vice-president, posted online on Sunday. “If they do, it will have been another triumph of Steve Witkoff, who continues to face withering attacks for freeing hostages, negotiating complex diplomatic proposals, and serving his country (at great financial cost)”.
