Hamas said early Monday to release the American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who believes he is the last American citizen alive in Gaza for the Palestinian militant group, in the next few hours.
“The Al-Qassam brigades have decided to free the captive Zionist soldier who has American citizenship,” Idan Alexander, “today, Monday, May 12, 2025,” said a spokesman for Hamas in a brief statement on early Monday.
Hamas had previously suggested that such a release would be a sign of goodwill as part of “the steps taken to achieve a high fire, open the crossings and allow help” in the strip of Gaza.
If you succeed, the launch will come the day before President Donald Trump will travel to the Middle East on a trip that is expected to intensify the efforts to bring a pause to Israel’s wide military offensive in Gaza, from which the aid has been cut for several weeks.
It is not expected that Trump’s trip includes a stop in Israel.
The Office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday that he was only compromising a safe corridor to allow Alexander’s release, instead of any high fire or the release of prisoners or Palestinian detainees.
“We are in critical days, during which Hamas has a proposal before her that would allow the liberation of our hostages,” said the statement, added: “The negotiations will continue under fire and together with the preparations to intensify the fighting.”
The Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to capture the entire enclave under which more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza would be “transferred” outside the strip while the Israel army launched operations to defeat Hamas.
Alexander, 21, was born and grew up in New Jersey and was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured by Hamas during his terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, along with another 250.
Israeli officials say that 1,200 people were killed during the attacks led by Hamas, which marked a great escalation in a conflict of decades.
Since then, more than 51,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, according to health officials in the enclave, which has been administered by Hamas since 2007.
Alexander is one of at least 59 hostages that remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials, although it is believed that less than half are alive. His family confirmed in a statement on Sunday that he was waiting for his release.
