Hamas to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander

Cairo — Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army who was born and raised in New Jersey, will soon be released in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said on Sunday.

The senior Hamas official did not specify a time for the release but a source familiar with the matter said it was likely to happen on Tuesday.

Freeing Alexander, believed to be the last surviving American hostage held by the militant Palestinian group, would come ahead of US President Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.

It is part of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged enclave, the Palestinian militant group said.

Another official, the exiled Gaza Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, said efforts to facilitate the release have been jointly carried out by Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

“The movement affirms its readiness to immediately start intensive negotiations and make serious efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war, exchange prisoners in an agreed-upon manner,” Hayya added.

Direct four-way talks that led to the release were held between officials from the US, Qatar, Egypt and Hamas, a source briefed on the negotiations said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office on the announcement.

Hamas had released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel’s military resumed its ground and aerial offensive on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.

Israeli officials said that offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarised. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.

Hamas has said it is willing to free all remaining hostages its gunmen seized in attacks in southern Israel on October 7 2023, and to agree to a permanent ceasefire if Israel pulls out completely from Gaza.

Israel, which is in control of around a third of Gaza’s territory and has been imposing an aid blockade since March, said in May it will expand its Gaza offensive.

US special envoy Adam Boehler said: “It’s a positive step forward and we would also ask that Hamas release the bodies of four other Americans that were taken.”

A state department spokesperson said Hamas bore sole responsibility for the war as well as for the resumption of hostilities.

The US had previously held discussions with the Palestinian militant group on securing the release of US hostages held in Gaza.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told a closed session of the foreign affairs and defence committee that Hamas could soon release Alexander as a goodwill gesture towards Trump.

The prime minister’s office said the US told Israel that Hamas’ freeing of Alexander would lead to negotiations for the release of more hostages. Israel’s policy is that negotiations will be conducted under fire with a continued commitment to achieving all war objectives, it added in a statement.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas attack in 2023 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza in the deadliest day for Israel in its history.

The campaign has killed more than 52,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and has devastated the Gaza Strip, leaving its 2.3-million population depending on aid supplies that have been dwindling rapidly since the blockade.

Reuters