Hamas releases Israeli-American held in Gaza

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Deal with U.S. largely circumvented Israel; 20 living hostages still being held

This picture released by the Israeli army shows newly released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexender reuniting Monday with family members at an undisclosed location in Israel. He was released after 584 days in captivity; 20 living Israeli hostages are believed to still be held. AFP PHOTO — HANDOUT — ISRAELI ARMY

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By Patrick Kingsley, Johnatan Reiss andAdam Rasgon

New York Times

Hamas released Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage it held in the Gaza Strip, on Monday evening after mediators brokered a deal between the group and the United States that largely circumvented the Israeli government.

Alexander’s release came on the eve of a visit by President Donald Trump to the Middle East, and was portrayed by Hamas officials as an attempt to secure U.S. support for a wider deal to end the war.

Alexander, 21, was among roughly 250 people seized and taken to Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. A dual Israeli-American national serving in the Israeli army, he was captured from a military post that morning. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel after high school to join the military.In images and video that the Israeli authorities shared Monday following his release, Alexander, looking pale but smiling, enthusiastically greeted his family with hugs and exclamations of joy.

According to reports in Israeli news media, the released captive said that he had been held in a cage in a Hamas underground tunnel with his hands and feet bound and ate little.

Elusive ceasefire

Unlike most other hostages, Alexander was released without a formally announced ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, highlighting the failure of efforts to secure a broader truce between the two sides. Hamas still holds at least 20 living hostages — along with about 40 dead bodies, including those of several Americans — but it is reluctant to release more of them unless Israel agrees to hold negotiations to end the war. Israel wants the right to continue the war after any future truce, leading to an impasse in the talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Monday that Alexander’s release showed the benefits of placing Hamas under greater military pressure. In March, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to break an earlier ceasefire, saying it would force the group to release more hostages and lead to its total military defeat.

But critics of Netanyahu’s strategy have said Alexander’s release instead highlighted the failure of such an approach, since he was being released mainly because of U.S. pressure rather than Israeli action. Growing numbers of Israelis support securing a deal to free all hostages, even if such a truce would require Netanyahu to compromise, end the war, and allow Hamas to survive. Netanyahu announced Monday that he would send a delegation to join negotiations for a temporary ceasefire, disappointing those who want him to agree to a permanent truce in order to free all the hostages.

Mixed feelings

As a result, the relatives of hostages still in Gaza said they had mixed feelings about Alexander’s release. Many gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday to call for a broader deal.

Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is still held in Gaza, said he was happy for Alexander but frustrated that he was being released “only because he’s an American citizen.”

Still, Cohen saw hope in how Trump was willing to work around Netanyahu. “He’s losing patience,” Cohen said of Trump. “We hope that it’s a new start of a new hostage deal, forcing Netanyahu to end the war, get all the hostages.”

Gaza in peril

With no end to the war in sight, aid agencies have warned of a growing risk of starvation in Gaza.

Since March, Israel has blocked all food and fuel supplies to the territory, much of which is occupied by Israeli troops, saying that it wanted to stop any supplies and profits from reaching Hamas.

Civilians have borne the brunt of Israel’s restrictions.

The fuel embargo has made it almost impossible to distribute food to certain parts of Gaza, and the lack of new food deliveries has caused existing stocks to dwindle.