Hamas said Friday that he agreed to free Israeli hostages Edan Alexander, the last American citizen alive in the captivity of the militant group, as well as the bodies of four most deceased national captives of dual national.
More details about whether Hamas’ agreement to free Alexander, now 21 years old, were conditional and when they would be released they were not immediately clear.
The militant group announced the decision in a statement published on Telegram on Friday and added that it is ready to begin negotiations to begin the second phase of its high -fire agreement with Israel.
The conversations keeping the fragile high the fire between Israel and Hamas continued in Doha, Qatar. The first phase ended without an agreement to begin the second phase of the agreement, which has brought a pause to the war in Gaza.
The White House and the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not immediately comment on the statement from early Friday.
The Trump administration has participated in direct conversations with Hamas about the launch of the US hostages that are still held in the Gaza Strip, said the White House earlier this month.
Hamas said that his leadership had received a proposal of mediators on Thursday to resume negotiations and that he had “responded responsible and positive” on Friday morning, including his agreement to free Alexander and the bodies of four other dual nationals.
It is believed that Hamas continues to support the bodies of the American Israeli Itay Chen, 19, Omer Neutra, 21, Judith Weinstein, 70, and her husband, Gadi Haggai, 72, in captivity.
Edan Alexander, who grew up in New Jersey and had volunteered to serve with the Israel army, is the last living host with US citizenship. He was parked outside Gaza when he was among about 250 people taken hostage during the terrorist attacks led by Hamas on October 7, 2023 who killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.
Since then, more than 48,500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a radical military offensive in the Palestinian enclave, according to local health officials, while around 70% of the infrastructure in the territory has also been destroyed, according to the United Nations.
The current high -fire agreement, which entered into force on January 19, requires that the remaining 59 hostages in Hamas captivity be released during the second phase, during which plans for the end of war would be negotiated.
With the first phase of the high fire, reaching an end without the agreement of a second phase, Israel has pressed Hamas to accept an extension to the first phase, demanding the release of half of the remaining hostages in exchange for a guarantee of negotiating a lasting truce.
Hamas has said that the negotiations in the second phase of the agreement wants to begin, which would see the hostages that remain in their liberated captivity, together with the withdrawal of Israeli forces and, ultimately, the end of the war.
