Edan Alexander, U.S. citizen taken hostage on Oct. 7, will be released, Hamas says

Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and held hostage for more than 19 months, will be released from captivity, Hamas said in a statement on Sunday.

The Hamas statement said the release was part of ongoing mediation efforts to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory and resume the delivery of aid. It did not say when the release would happen, but two Hamas officials told The Associated Press they expected it to take place within 48 hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it was aware of Hamas' plan to release Alexander, "as a gesture to the Americans," in a statement to CBS News on Sunday.

"The United States has informed Israel that this move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of the hostages under the original Witkoff outline — which Israel has already accepted," the office said, referencing terms negotiated by Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East.

"Israel is preparing for the possibility that this move will materialize," the statement continued. "According to Israeli policy, the negotiations will take place under fire with a commitment to achieving all war goals."

Witkoff confirmed late Sunday in a message to CBS News that Hamas had agreed to release Alexander.

Alexander is a 20-year-old Israeli-American national who grew up in New Jersey and was a soldier in the Israeli military when Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack. He was abducted from a military base where he was stationed near the Gaza border — one of 251 people taken hostage that day from southern Israel, while 1,200 more were killed.

President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that he was "grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen."

"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," he wrote. "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!"

In a statement distributed by the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the Alexander family said it had received on Sunday, Mother's Day, "the greatest gift imaginable — news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza. We express our deepest gratitude to President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. administration for their tireless work to make this happen. 

"We urge the Israeli government and the negotiating teams: please don't stop. We hope our son's release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families. No hostage should be left behind."

The hostage families forum had said earlier that it was "embracing and supporting the Alexander family," and that Edan's release "must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will secure the freedom of all remaining hostages."

The group, established by the families of the abductees, urged Mr. Trump and Netanyahu to bring everyone back.

"You've given the families of all the hostages hope," the statement said. "Please, complete your mission and bring them all home." 

As fighting escalated at the military base on the morning of Oct. 7, Alexander sent a message to his mother, telling her that he had shrapnel caught in his helmet from surrounding explosions but found a protected area. His family lost contact with him after 7 a.m., The Associated Press reported.

"He told me even though things were already getting dangerous around him. That was the last time I heard my son's voice. I cannot describe the pain of not knowing where your child is or how is he," Alexander's mother, Yael Alexander, told CBS New York in October. 

She and his father, Adi Alexander, met with former President Joe Biden and President Trump late last year to push for a deal that would free all of the hostages still being held in Gaza. Mr. Trump said earlier this month that fewer than two dozen hostages were believed to be alive. Alexander was thought to be among them.

As attempts to reach a permanent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have drawn on, militants have periodically freed hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. About 100 hostages were returned to Israel during a brief pause in fighting in November 2023, just over a month after the Oct. 7 attack prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas and begin bombarding Gaza.

Some of the people freed in that first exchange said they had seen Alexander in captivity. His grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, told the Associated Press at the time that hostages had said her grandson kept his cool and encouraged them that everyone would be released soon.

Fewer than 50 living people have been released from Hamas captivity since the temporary ceasefire in November 2023. 

Militants released 30 of the people between January and March of this year, as part of another exchange agreement with Israel that took place in several stages. Although family members of those in ongoing captivity have repeatedly pleaded with American and Israeli leaders to solidify a deal prioritizing the hostages' safe return, Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas in March and renewed its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said the death toll has risen to almost 53,000.