Hostage reunites with family after being freed by Hamas

Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander has been reunited with his family in Israel after being held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 19 months.

The 21-year-old had been serving in the Israeli army on the border of Gaza when he was captured by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023.

On Monday, Israel paused its military operations in Gaza for a few hours to facilitate the transfer. A senior Hamas official told the BBC the release was intended as a goodwill gesture and as part of efforts to reach a new ceasefire deal ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East on Tuesday.

Mr Alexander is thought to be the last US citizen held by Hamas who was still alive.

President Trump offered “congratulations” to his family on his release.

Television pictures show Edan Alexander smiling as he embraces his parents and siblings at an Israeli military base.

In a statement, his family thanked the US president but also urged the Israeli government and negotiators to continue working to free the 58 remaining hostages.

Mr Alexander is the first hostage to be freed by Hamas since Israel restarted its military offensive on 18 March, after a two-month ceasefire came to an end.

On Monday, he was seen with masked Hamas fighters as they handed him over to Red Cross workers in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

He was then transferred to Israeli authorities in Gaza before being reunited with his family in southern Israel. The Israeli military said it provided a “safe corridor” for Mr Alexander’s release.

A video shared on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s X account showed Yael Alexander speaking to her son over the phone.

“You are strong. You are protected. You are home,” she said in the video.

Netanyahu called Mr Alexander’s return a “very moving moment” – and thanked Trump for his support.

The release had been made possible because of military pressure on Hamas and “the political pressure exerted by President Trump”, Netanyahu said.

He added that Israel intended to continue with plans to intensify its military actions in Gaza and that there would be no ceasefire.

Hamas had earlier said Mr Alexander’s release was intended to facilitate a deal for the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

Israel has blocked the entry of all food, medication and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza for 70 days, which aid agencies say amounts to a policy of starvation and could be a war crime, and renewed its aerial bombardment and other military operations there in mid-March.

Hamas has previously said it will only agree to a deal that includes the end of the war. This has been repeatedly rejected by Netanyahu.

Trump is due to arrive in the Middle East on Tuesday, and Israel has vowed to expand its military offensive against Hamas if no deal is reached by the end of his visit.

Israeli officials have said the plans for their expanded offensive include seizing all of Gaza indefinitely, forcibly displacing Palestinians to the south, and taking over aid distribution with private companies despite opposition from the UN and its humanitarian partners, who say they will not co-operate because it appears to “weaponise” aid.

Israel is due to send representatives to Qatar on Thursday to discuss a proposal on further hostage releases.

Qatar and Egypt said that Mr Alexander’s release was an encouraging sign of potential new truce talks.

Born in Tel Aviv but raised in New Jersey, Mr Alexander had been serving in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was captured by Hamas militants during the 7 October 2003 attack.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken. Some 58 hostages remain, up to 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Five of the captives held in Gaza are believed to have US citizenship. Mr Alexander is thought to be the last American still alive.

Israel’s military campaign has killed 52,829 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including 2,720 Palestinians killed since March.