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After 584 days in captivity, he is the first male soldier in the Israel Defense Forces freed since being taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.
By JNS
Israel Defense Forces soldier and dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander, 21, was freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Monday after 584 days in captivity.
“The returning hostage is currently being accompanied by IDF special forces on his return to Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostage as he makes his way home to the State of Israel,” it added, urging the public to respect the privacy of the family.
The military subsequently announced that the military convoy “crossed the border into the territory of the State of Israel” and had made its way to the initial reception point near the Jewish state’s southern border.
The handover reportedly took place in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza, carried out by Hamas’s “Shadow Unit.” Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that Alexander was able to walk on his own “with a little help from the Red Cross” during the handover ceremony. An Israeli official told the broadcaster that his physical condition was “poor.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that the government in Jerusalem “embraces IDF Staff-Sgt. Edan Alexander, who has been returned from being held hostage by Hamas.”
“Together with all elements of the security establishment, the Israeli government will assist in his readjustment and will accompany him and his family,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office continued.
“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all of the hostages and missing, living and deceased. We will continue to act relentlessly until all of them have returned home,” the PMO stated, citing Psalms 31:16: “Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and pursuers.”
“This is a very emotional moment,” Netanyahu added. “We embrace him and we embrace his family. This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure exerted by President Trump.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “I wholeheartedly welcome the return of IDF soldier Edan Alexander and share in this emotional moment, along with the entire State of Israel as we witness his reunion with his loving family, who worked tirelessly day and night for his return home.”
“I thank the president of the United States and the U.S administration for their efforts and assistance in securing his release. We are committed to doing everything possible until all the hostages—our brothers and sisters, both the living and the fallen—are brought back,” Katz stated.
Edan Alexander is in a Red Cross vehicle and on his way to Israel pic.twitter.com/kf9e2Llpy0
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 12, 2025
After being transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross by Hamas, Alexander was brought to IDF special forces inside the Strip, and from there to the initial reception point at the military’s Re’im base.
At the IDF facility near Re’im, he received a first physical and mental exam before he met with members of his family who traveled to Israel from the United States for the occasion. He will later be airlifted by IDF helicopter to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital).
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said earlier on Monday that Jerusalem had not committed to “any ceasefire or the release of terrorists, only to a safe corridor that will allow for Edan’s release.”
However, some IDF forces in Gaza were reportedly ordered to hold fire during Alexander’s release to allow his safe passage. The army was also said to have paused intelligence-gathering operations in the Strip.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir followed the operation to return Alexander from the army’s hostages and missing persons headquarters.
“We are excited and grateful upon the return home of Edan, an IDF soldier,” Zamir said in remarks published by the military. “At the same time, we do not forget our commitment to bring back the 58 hostages still held by Hamas—they remain constantly on our minds.”
Alexander, a native of New Jersey, was taken during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and abducted 251.
Alexander’s parents confirmed that he may travel to Qatar for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled to visit the Gulf nation this week as part of a Middle East tour. However, the family emphasized that the trip would depend on their son’s medical condition.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday afternoon: “Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage, is being sreleased [sic]. Congratulations to his wonderful parents, family, and friends!”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee stated: “I am relieved that American Edan Alexander finally gets to come home,” adding, “We hope that this long-overdue release marks the beginning of the end to this terrible war. Hamas alone is responsible for the continued death and suffering. We demand the immediate release of all remaining hostages.”
Alexander, believed to have been the last living American citizen held in the Strip, is the first male IDF soldier taken on Oct. 7 to be freed.
Following Alexander’s release, 58 abductees remain captive in Gaza, according to official Israeli military figures, including the remains of four deceased Americans.
Jerusalem believes that up to 23 hostages are still alive, with heavy question marks over the fate of one Israeli and two foreign nationals.
‘A massive effort’
Hamas’s announcement on Sunday night that it would free Alexander came following talks with the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. The terrorist group said his release was “part of the steps being taken to achieve a truce, open the [border] crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach our people in Gaza.”
Ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, which came after the Jewish state’s security services returned the body of an IDF soldier who had been missing since the First Lebanon War in 1982, Netanyahu vowed to return all hostages and missing people.
“It isn’t just lip service; it’s a massive effort by all Israeli security and intelligence agencies,” the premier declared in his remarks.
Netanyahu met with Witkoff and Huckabee ahead of Alexander’s release on Monday night. The Israeli prime minister then spoke with Trump, whom he thanked for the development.
Trump reiterated his commitment to Israel and desire to continue close cooperation with the prime minister, according to a readout published by the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
“He told me: ‘I am committed to Israel. I am committed to continuing to work with you in close cooperation’—to achieve all of our war goals: to free all the hostages and to defeat Hamas,” Netanyahu said of Trump.
In his meeting with Witkoff and Huckabee, Netanyahu discussed a last-ditch effort to implement a final draft agreement for the release of the remaining hostages before the IDF steps up its offensive in the Strip.
The premier instructed that a delegation be sent to Doha on Tuesday. Netanyahu stressed that the fighting would continue during the talks.
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