US hostage Edan Alexander released by Hamas in deal brokered by Trump administration, bypassing Israel

Hamas has released Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza, following a deal mediated directly with the United States. The agreement, reached without the full involvement of the Israeli government, was described by American officials as a goodwill gesture aimed at building momentum for a broader ceasefire. 

 

The 21-year-old dual Israeli-American citizen was handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on May 12 evening and then transferred to Israeli military authorities.

 

Alexander’s release came just one day before President Donald Trump’s scheduled arrival in the Middle East. Hamas leaders framed the timing as a calculated attempt to garner US support for a wider agreement to end the war. American officials confirmed that negotiations had taken place directly with Hamas in recent days, after earlier contacts were suspended amid Israeli objections.

 

Originally from Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel after joining Garin Tzabar in 2022, a programme that supports young Jewish volunteers from around the world in joining the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). He was serving in the IDF’s infantry division near the Gaza border when he was captured during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, which triggered the ongoing war. He was among approximately 250 people taken hostage during the attack.

 

Alexander's parents, Adi and Yael—Israeli-born and now residing in the United States—have campaigned tirelessly for his release, speaking at rallies and meeting officials. Following his release, the family expressed overwhelming relief, calling it "the greatest gift imaginable". However, they also urged the Israeli government to intensify efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages, asserting that "no hostage should be left behind".

 

Israel temporarily paused military operations in Gaza on May 12 to facilitate the handover. Images broadcast on Israeli television showed Alexander, pale but smiling, embracing his parents and siblings at a military base in southern Israel. In a phone call captured on video, his mother, Yael, told him: “You are strong. You are protected. You are home.”

 

Despite the joyous reunion, Alexander’s condition bears witness to the trauma he endured. According to Israeli media reports, he had been held in a Hamas tunnel for 583 days, largely confined to a cage, with his hands and feet shackled. He suffered severe food deprivation and was interrogated over several weeks. Medical experts are now conducting thorough tests to assess his health, checking for blood clots, organ failure, and other complications before he can be cleared to travel, potentially to Qatar for a meeting with President Trump.

 

Alexander is the first hostage to be freed since Israel resumed its military offensive on March 18, following the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire. His release occurred without the announcement of a new truce, underscoring the broader diplomatic deadlock between Israel and Hamas. It holds at least 20 living hostages and the bodies of 40 others, including four American citizens. At the moment, more captives are unlikely to be set free without an agreement to end the war. Israel, on the other hand, insists on retaining the right to continue military operations.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Alexander’s release vindicated his strategy of intensifying military pressure on Hamas. In March, Netanyahu ordered the resumption of hostilities, arguing it would compel Hamas to free more hostages. However, critics say Alexander’s release demonstrates the opposite: that international diplomacy, especially pressure from Washington, was the decisive factor. Some Israeli officials privately acknowledge that the American intervention overshadowed Israeli efforts.

 

This divergence in approach has fuelled a political debate within Israel. While Netanyahu prepares to dispatch a delegation to Qatar on May 15 to resume talks, many citizens and relatives of other hostages demand a permanent ceasefire. On May 12, demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv, expressing frustration that more has not been done. Some noted that Alexander was released “only because he’s an American citizen,” reinforcing perceptions of inequality in efforts to recover the hostages.

 

President Trump, for his part, took to social media to frame Alexander’s release as potentially “the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict”. 

 

Israel, meanwhile, has warned that its Gaza campaign will expand further unless a deal is reached before Trump concludes his trip to the Middle East. Plans under consideration include the indefinite occupation of Gaza, large-scale displacement of Palestinians to the south, and the privatisation of aid delivery—a move condemned by the United Nations and other humanitarian groups for effectively “weaponising” aid.

 

With US envoys and Israeli officials due to meet in Qatar, the coming days may prove critical in determining whether Alexander’s release marks a singular diplomatic gesture or the beginning of a larger, negotiated resolution to a war now nearing its second year.

Middle East