Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American dual citizen who was serving with the Israel Defence Forces when he was taken hostage in the October 7 terrorist attack, is reportedly in the hands of the Red Cross and en route back to Israel.
Alexander, 21, was transferred to the agency this afternoon, according to Channel 12’s Amit Segal. He is the first hostage to be released since February and is the first male IDF soldier to be freed.
A rally is being held in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv in anticipation of his return, as well as in his home town of Tenefly, New Jersey.
Members of the crowds are waving Israeli flags and yellow hostages banners, with a large clock at the Tel Aviv demo counting up each second before Alexander is returned home.
Under a ceasefire agreed in January, 30 living hostages were freed along with the bodies of eight who had died in captivity. The ceasefire fell apart in March.
The release of Alexander, who was the last living US citizen still in Hamas captivity, follows intensive diplomatic efforts by Washington. President Donald Trump will tour the Gulf states this week, including Qatar, which is home to several senior Hamas leaders.
The terrorist group continues to hold 58 hostages, of whom 23 are thought to be alive, Israeli officials have said.
Negotiations on their release have stalled since fighting resumed in March; since then, Israeli has unveiled plans to step up its offensive in Gaza.
In a statement over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that it would not pause the fighting while it negotiated the release of the remaining hostages, and that it would continue to work towards its military objective of entirely disarming Hamas, Reuters reported. The terrorist group has said it will only release the hostages as part of a deal to end the fighting.
Alexander had been held by Hamas for 583 days. Last month, during Passover, Hamas released a video of him reading propaganda against Netanyahu and his government, as well as Trump. He appeared healthy but mentally distressed.
He is expected to be received by the IDF before being transported to a local hospital. After medical checks, he will be reunited with his family, who have flown to Israel from the US.
Their local representative, Josh Gottheimer, paid tribute to the families bravery and resilience, saying: “I will not rest until Edan comes home to Tenafly and all of the hostages are back with their loved ones.
"[The Alexander family’s] strength has been a constant inspiration to us all.”
His family has not commented publicly on his release.
