Hamas
frees last living US citizen held in Gaza in what Trump calls a ‘good faith
step’
American
soldier Edan Alexander meets family at Israel border after masked fighters hand
him over to Red Cross
Emma
Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem
Mon 12 May
2025 20.27 BST
Hamas has
freed the last living US citizen it held in Gaza, soldier Edan Alexander, in a
unilateral move Donald Trump described as a “good faith step” towards ending
the war and bringing home all remaining hostages.
The release
of 20-year-old Alexander, a dual national serving in the Israel Defense Forces
who spent 584 days in captivity after he was seized from his base on 7 October
2023, was agreed with little Israeli involvement beyond practical coordination
on the ground.
There was no
ceasefire in Gaza for his return, although Israel paused fighting from midday
for the handover, which came as UN-backed experts warned that half a million
Palestinians face starvation in Gaza due to Israel’s weeks-long siege.
He was
dressed in civilian clothes when masked fighters handed him to a Red Cross
official. He was driven to the border with Israel, where family who had flown
over from the United States were waiting to meet him after initial check-ups.
He told
Israeli soldiers after his release that he had been held handcuffed with other
hostages, in a cage inside a tunnel, Israel’s Kan television reported.
Hamas said
in a statement they had freed Alexander “following contacts with the US
administration, to achieve a ceasefire, open crossings, and bring aid and
relief to our people in Gaza”.
“We urge
President Trump’s administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal
war,” the statement added.
Trump
celebrated the release with a post on Truth Social on Monday afternoon. “Edan
Alexander, the last living American hostage, is being released. Congratulations
to his wonderful parents, family, and friends!”
In a
previous post he described the release as “a step taken in good faith towards
the United States and the efforts of the mediators – Qatar and Egypt – to put
an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to
their loved ones”.
Israel’s
prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, thanked Trump for his role in Edan’s
release but also claimed credit was due to Israeli forces and his own
government’s military strategy.
“This was
achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by
President Trump. This is a winning combination,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli
leader has insisted throughout the war that military pressure is the best way
to ensure that the hostages return home, even as Trump stepped up calls for a
deal to end the conflict.
Alexander’s
release comes on the eve of Trump’s first trip to the region since his
re-election, with Israel conspicuously missing from his itinerary, and after a
series of blunt public snubs to the country’s leadership.
Trump’s
ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, denied on Monday that the relationship
with Israel’s most important ally was strained. “Forget rumours. We’re all on
the same page,” he said, after a meeting with Netanyahu and Steve Witkoff,
Trump’s regional envoy which he described as “excellent”.
Qatar and
Egypt, who mediated Alexander’s release, described it as an encouraging step
towards new truce talks. After the soldier returned to Israel, Netanyahu also
said he had ordered negotiators to Doha to discuss a possible deal for Gaza,
ahead of a planned new Israeli offensive there.
For now,
Israel’s leader appears trapped between Trump’s desire for a deal and pressure
from his coalition partners to continue the war.
His
government relies on the backing of far-right parties who want Israel to keep
fighting, including finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who earlier this month
vowed that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed” and its Palestinian population
will “leave in great numbers”.
However
Trump, who previously delighted Netanyahu’s far right allies by backing plans
to force Palestinians to leave Gaza, has not publicly criticised Netanyahu.
The Israeli
leader may be hoping that strong support for Israel from the Republican base
and other pressing demand’s on Trump’s attention, from the war in Ukraine to
tariff talks with China, will divert the US leader’s attention away from Gaza
even if fighting continues.
Crowds
gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to watch footage of Alexander’s release
and call for the return of other hostages. Trump said after Alexander’s release
that only 20 of those were still alive, a number the Israeli government has not
confirmed.
Relatives
and supporters called for the government to push for a breakthrough to bring
back 58 others still in Gaza.
Others were
blunter. Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker who for a time
was held with Alexander, said the prime minister was an “angel of death” and
called for mass protests to force him from office.
“Instead of
ending the war and bringing everyone back, Netanyahu is preparing to expand the
war this week. To execute the kidnapped who remain in captivity and to make the
dead disappear,” she said. “Instead of saving lives and bringing everyone back,
he chose to turn our loved ones into corpses.”
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