In a statement Sunday, Hamas said Edan Alexander, the last U.S. citizen to be kidnapped and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists for more than 19 months, will be released.
Hamas said on Sunday night that the release was part of an ongoing mediation effort to establish a ceasefire, reopen to Israel's covered territory and restore the delivery of aid. It doesn't say when it happened. Two Hamas officials told the Associated Press that they expect the release within the next 48 hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Hamas' plan to release Alexander “is a gesture to the Americans” in a statement to CBS News on Sunday.
“The United States has informed Israel that the move is expected to lead to negotiations on the release of hostages in the original Witkov outline, which Israel has accepted,” the office said.
“Israel is preparing for the possibility of this move to be achieved,” the statement continued. “Under Israel's policy, negotiations will be held under the fires, committed to achieving all war goals.”
Alexander is A 20-year-old Israeli-American soldier He grew up in New Jersey when Hamas attacked the Israeli military on October 7, 2023. He was stationed at a military base, near the Gaza border, where 250 people were hijacked from southern Israel on the same day, while 1,200 were killed.
Hostages and Missing Family Forum Headquarters responded to the news in a statement.
The group established by the family of the kidnapped urged President Trump and Netanyahu to bring everyone back.
“You have given all the hostages' families,” the statement said. “Please complete your mission and take them all home.”
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
As the battle escalated that morning at the base, Alexander sent a message to his mother telling her that he had grabbed the helmet from the surrounding explosion but found a protected sanctuary. According to the Associated Press, his family lost contact with him after 7 a.m.
Alexander's mother, Yael Alexander, told me that he told me that even though things had become dangerous around him. CBS New York October.
She and his father, Adi Alexander, met with former President Joe Biden and President Trump in the second half of last year to push for a deal that would free all hostages still in Gaza. Mr. Trump said earlier this month that less than twenty hostages are believed to be alive. Alexander is considered one of them.
With attempts to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, militants have regularly released hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. The October 7, 2023 attack prompted Israel to declare a war against Hamas and start bombing Gaza, with about 100 hostages returning to Israel during a brief pause in November 2023.
Some released in the first exchange said they had been imprisoned by Alexander. His grandmother Varda Ben Baruch told the Associated Press at the time that the hostages said her grandson was calm and encouraged them to be released soon.
Since the temporary ceasefire in November 2023, less than 50 people have been released from Hamas captivity. The militants released 30 people between January and March this year, as part of another exchange agreement with Israel in several stages. Despite repeated pleas for the families of those who continue to be imprisoned to consolidate agreements for hostage return to the United States and Israeli leaders, Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March and launched an offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian officials saying the death toll has brought at least 52,000 shares back to 52,000 deaths.
Haley Ott contributed to the report.
