Hamas announces it will release last living Israeli American hostage

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 11, 2025 4:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

Hamas says Edan Alexander, the past surviving American hostage successful Gaza, volition beryllium released arsenic portion of efforts to found a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the transportation of aid.

The Hamas connection Sunday nighttime does not accidental erstwhile the merchandise volition happen. The announcement comes soon earlier U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East this week. Trump is not readying to sojourn Israel.

Alexander is an Israeli American worker who grew up successful the United States. He was abducted from his basal during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught that ignited the warfare successful Gaza.

There was nary contiguous effect from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Netanyahu's authorities was angered by U.S. nonstop talks with Hamas earlier this year.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas person successful Gaza, said the radical has been successful interaction with the U.S. medication implicit the past fewer days.

WATCH | Israel approves program to prehend Gaza indefinitely: 

Al-Hayyah said successful a connection Hamas is acceptable to "immediately commencement intensive negotiations" to scope a last woody for a semipermanent truce which includes an extremity to the war, the speech of Palestinian prisoners and hostages successful Gaza and the handing implicit of powerfulness successful Gaza to an autarkic assemblage of technocrats.

Alexander's parents did not instantly instrumentality requests for comment.

Trump and his peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff person often mentioned Alexander, present 21, by sanction successful the past fewer months. Witkoff is expected to sojourn Israel successful the coming hours.

"Every clip they accidental Edan's name, it's similar they didn't forget. They didn't hide he's American, and they're moving connected it," Edan's mother, Yael Alexander, told The Associated Press successful February.

Hamas released a video of Alexander successful November during the Thanksgiving weekend, his favourite holiday, his parent said. The video was hard to ticker arsenic helium cried and pleaded for help, but it was a alleviation to spot the astir caller motion that helium was alive, she said.

A autochthonal of Tenafly, N.J., wherever his parents and 2 younger siblings inactive live, Alexander moved to Israel successful 2022 aft precocious schoolhouse and enlisted successful the military.

Fifty-nine hostages are inactive wrong Gaza, astir a 3rd of them believed to beryllium alive, aft astir of the remainder were released successful ceasefire agreements oregon different deals.

Bombardment continues

Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 radical successful the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to section wellness officials.

Two of the strikes deed tents successful the confederate metropolis of Khan Younis, each sidesplitting 2 children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another 7 radical were killed successful strikes elsewhere, including a antheral and his kid successful a Gaza City neighborhood, according to hospitals and Gaza's Health Ministry.

The Israeli subject says it lone targets militants and tries to debar harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths successful the 19-month-old warfare due to the fact that the militants are embedded successful densely populated areas. There was nary contiguous Israeli remark connected the latest strikes.

Israel has sealed Gaza disconnected from each imports, including food, medicine and exigency shelter, for implicit 10 weeks successful what it says is simply a unit maneuver aimed astatine forcing Hamas to merchandise hostages. Israel resumed its violative successful March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the merchandise of much than 30 hostages.

The UN and assistance groups accidental nutrient and different supplies are moving debased and hunger is widespread. Aid groups accidental the humanitarian situation is worse than astatine immoderate clip successful the 19-month war.

Children carrying bare bottles raced aft a h2o tanker successful a devastated country of bluish Gaza connected Sunday. Residents of the built-up Shati exile campy said the h2o was brought by a foundation from elsewhere successful Gaza. Without it, they trust connected wells that are salty and often polluted.

WATCH | Children successful Gaza look starvation aft months of Israeli assistance block: 

"I americium forced to portion salty water, I person nary choice," said Mahmoud Radwan. "This causes intestinal disease, and there's nary medicine to dainty it."

COGAT, the Israeli subject assemblage successful complaint of Palestinian civilian affairs, says capable assistance entered during a two-month ceasefire this twelvemonth and that 2 of the 3 main h2o lines from Israel are inactive functioning.

Trump, whose medication has voiced afloat enactment for Israel's actions, is acceptable to sojourn Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week successful a determination circuit that volition not see Israel.

The warfare began erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's violative has killed implicit 52,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The violative has destroyed immense areas of the territory and displaced immoderate 90 per cent of its colonisation of astir two million.