Edan Alexander, American citizen taken hostage on October 7, will be released, says Hamas

Edan Alexander, the last American citizen kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and retained the hostages for more than 19 months, will be released from captivity, Hamas said in a statement on Sunday.

Hamas Declaration on Sunday night said the launch was part of the ongoing mediation efforts to establish a high fire, reopen crosses in the territory blocked by Israel and resume the delivery of help. It does not say when liberation will occur. Two Hamas officials told The News that they expect launch in the next 48 hours.

The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was aware of Hamas’ plans to free Alexander “as a gesture for Americans” in a statement to News themezone on Sunday.

“The United States has informed Israel that this movement is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of hostages under the original Witkoff scheme, which Israel has already accepted,” said the office, referring to terms negotiated by Steve Witkoff, a special envoy from the United States to the Middle East.

“Israel is preparing for the possibility that this movement materializes,” the statement continued. “According to Israeli policy, negotiations will take place under fire with the commitment to achieve all war objectives.”

Alexander is A 20-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey and was a soldier in the Israeli army when Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023. He was kidnapped from the military base where he was parked near the border of Gaza, along with 250 people taken as hostages that day from southern Israel, while 1,200 more were killed.

“If this launch is confirmed, the launch of Edan Alexander must mark the beginning of an integral agreement that will ensure the freedom of all the remaining hostages,” reacted the headquarters of the Families and Families forum in a statement in a statement.

The group established by the families of the kidnapped urged President Trump and Netanyahu to bring everyone back.

“You have given the families of all the hostages they expect,” the statement said. “Please complete your mission and bring them home to everyone.”

While the fight intensified on the base that morning, Alexander sent a message to his mother, telling him that he had caught the shrapnel in the surrounding explosions, but found a protected area. His family lost contact with him after 7 am, News reported.

“He told me that things were already becoming dangerous around him. That was the last time I heard my son’s voice. I can’t describe the pain of not knowing where her son is or how she is,” said Alexander’s mother, Yael Alexander, News New York In October.

She and her father, Adi Alexander, met with former President Joe Biden and President Trump at the end of last year to boost an agreement that would release all hostages that are still carried out in Gaza. Trump said earlier this month that it was believed that less than two dozen hostages were alive. Alexander was thought to be among them.

As the attempts to reach a highly the permanent fire between Israel and Hamas have resorted to, the militants have periodically released the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners retained in Israel. Around 100 hostages were returned to Israel during a brief pause in the fight in November 2023, just over a month after the attack of October 7, 2023 led Israel to declare the war against Hamas and begin to bomb Gaza.

Some of the people released in that first exchange said they had seen Alexander in captivity. His grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, told News at that time that the hostages had said that his grandson kept calm and encouraged that everyone would be released soon.

Less than 50 living people have been released from Hamas’s captivity since the high temporary fire in November 2023. The militants released 30 of the people between January and March of this year, as part of another exchange agreement with Israel that took place in several stages. Although the family members of those in captive in progress have repeatedly begged US leaders and Israelis to solidify an agreement that prioritizes the safe performance of the hostages, Israel finished its high fire with Hamas in March and renewed their offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said that the number of deaths has increased to at least 52,000.

Haley Ott contributed to this report.

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