Hamas to release final US hostage in gesture of 'goodwill'
Share this @internewscast.com

Hamas has agreed to release the last living American hostage in Gaza as a goodwill gesture toward US President Donald Trump.

The goal, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed late Sunday in a message to The Associated Press, was to restart talks on a ceasefire, the release of additional hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza before Israel carries out a threatened total takeover of the territory.

Witkoff was travelling to the region today ahead of Edan Alexander’s expected release.

Varda Ben Baruch holds a picture of her grandson Edan Alexander, who is held hostage in Gaza. (AP)

It will be the first release of a hostage through negotiations between Hamas and the US that largely took place without Israel’s involvement.

Just before Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week, the news of the first release of a hostage since Israel broke a ceasefire in March has been announced.

This event underscores the eagerness of Israel’s closest ally to breathe life into ceasefire discussions in the ongoing 19-month conflict, while desperation mounts among the families of hostages and Gaza’s population of over two million, now living under the new Israeli blockade.

Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey.

He was abducted from his base during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war in Gaza.

According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US notified them of Hamas’ plan to release Alexander “without compensation or conditions,” a move expected to initiate talks around a potential truce.

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis. (AP)

Netanyahu’s government was angered by US direct talks with Hamas earlier this year – which led to a Hamas offer to release Alexander and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to a stalled ceasefire deal. Days later, however, Israel resumed the war.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the US administration over the past few days.

Al-Hayyah said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce, which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats.

Indirect talks between Hamas and the US began five days ago, an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas official told the AP, with both describing the release of Alexander as a gesture of goodwill.

Civilians flee in Rafah as Israel pushes ahead with its offensive

The senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said Alexander is expected to be released on today.

Hamas was advised to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one,” the official said.

Another Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations, said Alexander’s release is expected in the next 48 hours, adding that it requires Israel to pause fighting for a couple of hours.

The Egyptian official involved in ceasefire negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss talks, said Hamas received assurances from the Trump administration through Egyptian and Qatari mediators that Alexander’s release “will put all files on the negotiating table” including an end to the war.

Alexander’s parents did not immediately return requests for comment.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. (AP)

Trump and his special envoy Witkoff have frequently mentioned Alexander, now 21, by name in the past few months.

Witkoff was expected to visit Israel in the coming hours.

“Every time they say Edan’s name, it’s like they didn’t forget. They didn’t forget he’s American, and they’re working on it,” Edan’s mother, Yael Alexander, told The Associated Press earlier this year.

Hamas released a video of Alexander in November during the Thanksgiving weekend, his mother said.

The video was difficult to watch as he cried and pleaded for help, but it was a relief to see the latest sign that he was alive, she said.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - MAY 10: A view of the destruction after Israeli army targeted the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) building in Jabalia Camp in Gaza Strip on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Mahmoud ssa/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Israel shattered an agreed-on ceasefire earlier this year. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Fifty-nine hostages are still in Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive.

Most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

The Hostages Families Forum, the grassroots forum representing most hostage families, said Alexander’s release “must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement” that will free everyone.

Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour.

Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.

Two strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

Another seven people were killed in strikes elsewhere, including a man and his child in a Gaza City neighbourhood, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians.

It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas.

Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages.

Israel in March shattered the ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.

Aid groups say the humanitarian crisis is worse than at any time in the war, with food running low.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians.

The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90 per cent of its population.

Israel recovers remains of soldier killed in Lebanon in 1982

In a separate development, Israel said it retrieved the remains of a soldier killed in a 1982 battle in southern Lebanon after he had been classified as missing for more than four decades.

The Israeli military said Sergeant First Class Tzvi Feldman’s remains were recovered from deep inside Syria, without providing further details.

Netanyahu visited Feldman’s surviving siblings and told them that the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad late last year led to an “opportunity” that allowed the military and the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, to gather additional intelligence and locate and retrieve the body, according to video released by his office.

Feldman went missing, along with five other Israeli soldiers, in a battle with Syrian forces in the Lebanese town of Sultan Yaaqoub.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Police to Investigate Glastonbury Chants by Kneecap and Bob Vylan as BBC Plans to Edit Performances out of Replays

The police are currently reviewing footage of statements made by Bob Vylan…
Former NRL veteran Kevin Proctor was knocked out during a controversial 'run it straight' event

Ex-NRL Player Kevin Proctor Knocked Out at Contentious RUNIT Event in Dubai

Former NRL player Kevin Proctor was rendered unconscious by social media influencer…
Protesters line highway to oppose Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Protesters Gather Along Highway to Challenge Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Proposal

A diverse coalition consisting of environmentalists and Native American groups defending their…

Has the U.S. Gained Insight from the Iraq War as Trump’s Israel-Iran Ceasefire Stands?

Noor Aljaberi was in her early 20s and studying IT in Baghdad…
Relatives of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip mourn their deaths at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

At Least 72 Dead in Gaza After Israeli Airstrikes, Including Sleeping Family

Three children and their parents were killed in an Israeli strike on…
A Melbourne AirBnB has been trashed after teenage gangs clashed when a birthday party was gatecrashed.

‘Bloodstains Found’: Airbnb Wrecked After Party Crashers Arrive

A Melbourne Airbnb has been trashed as teenage gangs clashed when a…

Despite Warnings, 200,000 Defied Ban to Join Pride March

Record numbers of people have marched in the Budapest Pride parade, defying…
Olivia White, influencer and content creator

“It’s Going to Escalate’: How Olivia Discovered Her Anonymous Troll”

The internet may be about to experience a seismic shift. Influencer Indy…

Police Uncover Drug Lab Operating in Sydney’s Western Suburbs

Police have seized over 100kg of methamphetamine products during a raid of…
Mystery bone fragment found in private search for abducted children

Bone Fragment Discovered During Personal Search for Missing Children

A peculiar piece of bone was found during a search at a…
In this frame-grab made from video, missiles and air-defence interceptors illuminate the night sky over Doha after Iran launched an attack on US forces at Al Udeid Air Base on June 23, 2025 in Doha.

How Qatar Prevented an Iranian Attack on the Largest U.S. Base in the Region

Top Qatari officials had been meeting with the country’s prime minister on…

Melbourne Mum’s Deep Concerns Amid Turmoil in Iran

Nayran Tabiei reflects on a harrowing week that’s been among the most…