After nearly a year and a half in captivity, Edan Alexander — the last remaining U.S. hostage taken by Hamas — is set to come home.
The news was first reported by President Donald Trump on Truth Social, although the move was later confirmed by other media.
“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family. I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen,” Trump wrote on Truth.
“This was 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. Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2025
The move comes as Trump is set to begin a Middle East visit on Tuesday, which will take him from Saudi Arabia to Qatar then to the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Times of Israel, Alexander — a dual citizen who spent most of his life in New Jersey — was kidnapped as part of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks while he was serving with the Israel Defense Forces.
The Biden administration had not been able to obtain his freedom, but it had been an agenda item for the Trump administration — and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has facilitated much of the administration’s policy regarding Israel, Gaza, and its desire for an end to hostilities, had been set to travel to Israel from Oman on Monday to work out the details of Alexander’s release.
If Biden were still in power, would Alexander be on his way home?
Hamas said in a statement that the release came amid “intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”
While the terror group which controls the Gaza Strip did not provide details as to the date or manner of his release, it added that it was prepared to put an end to hostilities with a deal that would involve an “agreed prisoner exchange, and enable Gaza to be administered by an independent professional authority.”
While the language here presents several problems — such a “prisoner exchange” is unlikely to be on the table, given that some of these “prisoners” aren’t just combatants but terrorists who have murdered innocent civilians — a source involved in the negotiations said the U.S. told Hamas that releasing Alexander “would go a long way” with getting Trump on board with getting Israel to the table.
Furthermore, the latter part of the statement — the administration of Gaza “by an independent professional authority” — seems to acknowledge that Hamas will effectively be extirpated from power, one way or another.
The Alexander family was stunned by the news.
“The entire family is now on the way to Israel,” Edan’s father Adi told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.
“We were completely surprised to receive the call from Witkoff. We knew about the negotiations but not about such a dramatic development.”
The deal was reached without the knowledge or participation of Israel; the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Alexander was being released as a gesture of goodwill toward America, “without any compensation or conditions.”
“The U.S. conveyed to Israel that this move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of additional hostages, based on the original Witkoff proposal — which Israel has already accepted,” Netanyahu’s office said.
That framework would release half the remaining living hostages for an extended truce with the rest exchanged at the end of hostilities.
However, Netanyahu’s office added that “according to Israeli policy, the negotiation will take place under fire, with a firm commitment to achieving all the objectives of the war.”
That being said, the release will mean that Israel will temporarily cease military operations and drone surveillance in certain parts of Gaza as Alexander is turned over to American authorities, according to a source who was involved in negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum — a group representing the families and loved ones of those who were taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack — said that this “must be the start of a single agreement that will return all 59 hostages.”
“There is only one moral, proper and necessary agreement: the immediate return of all the hostages and the end of the war,” the statement said. “Now is the time to bring about a breakthrough in negotiations. The responsibility lies with the Israeli government. Nobody can be left behind.”
At least now, there’s an American administration that appears capable of helping deliver on that.
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