Edan Alexander, 21, the last American-Israeli hostage, was released Monday by Hamas to the Red Cross and is en route to Israel, where he will be met by his family, doctors, and officials from both Israel and the U.S.
Alexander, who comes from Tenafly, New Jersey, immigrated to Israel and volunteered in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), where he was accepted into the elite Golani brigade. He was kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, terror attack.
Many residents of Tenafly gathered at dawn to watch Alexander’s release.
Alexander was handed to the Red Cross — which, for nearly 600 days, failed to visit him in captivity — in Gaza on Monday afternoon local time, and was set to be delivered to Israeli forces in Gaza, before his return home.
President Donald Trump welcomed Alexander’s release in a post on his Truth Social account:
Alexander’s relatives also celebrated:
Alexander will be greeted in Israel by his family; by Israeli hostage negotiator Gal Hirsch; by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff; and by doctors, who will transfer him to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for evaluation.
There are 20, or 23, living hostages still in Gaza, out of roughly 50 total, including those who are dead. Hamas murdered 40 U.S. citizens on October 7, 2023, and took 12 Americans hostage, among more than 250 overall hostages, including five U.S. hostages who were still living when Trump won the 2024 election, and who have now all been released.
Israeli advocates for the families of the hostages are pressing for additional releases. Israel has stressed that Hamas freed Alexander “under fire” and without concessions from the Israeli side. Hamas described the release as a gesture of goodwill before President Trump’s visit to the region, but the picture is likely more complex, involving multi-party deals with regional Arab states.
