US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff gifted a Star of David necklace belonging to his late son to freed hostage Edan Alexander in a deeply personal exchange that moved the young soldier’s family to tears.
The meeting took place at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, where Alexander, 21, is recovering following his release after 584 days in Hamas captivity. The American-Israeli dual national, who served in the IDF's Golani Brigade, was abducted on October 7 during Hamas’s assault on southern Israel.
Witkoff, who lost his son Andrew to a drug overdose in 2011, had worn the chain ever since his death. In an emotional moment, the envoy removed the necklace and placed it around Alexander’s neck, saying: “You would be doing a great honour to my son if you keep wearing this.”
Andrew Witkoff was just a year older than Alexander when he died in a sober living facility in California. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family in 2013 alleged that he had been allowed to avoid drug tests and to purchase opioids online due to a “lackadaisical” clinical approach at the institution, which later closed after sacking senior staff over the incident.
The visit to Alexander came one day after Witkoff played a key role in securing the IDF volunteer’s release. He was the last known living American citizen held by Hamas and his freedom was seen as a significant diplomatic gesture ahead of former US President Donald Trump’s expected arrival in Qatar – home to much of Hamas’ political leadership – for a state visit.
During the meeting, Alexander spoke by phone with Trump in a ten-minute during which the president reportedly told him: “Your mother kept pushing me the whole time – but that’s okay. I can’t wait to see you at the White House.
"The whole nation wants to see you. You’re a bigger celebrity than I am right now. Enjoy it while you can, stay strong. Take it easy.”
Trump also joked that Alexander was now a “bigger celebrity” than him and praised his envoy’s efforts, saying: “Steve did a great job. Honestly, it was me, but I’ll give Steve the credit.”
Asked about his treatment in captivity, Alexander responded: “Since you got elected, my conditions improved dramatically. There are tons of cameras and people around me right now - I can’t share much at the moment. We’ll talk in private.”
Following the meeting, Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler told the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that they would not be travelling to Doha unless they believed progress on a ceasefire-hostage release deal was possible.
“Your children are not my children, but now I’ve made them my children,” Witkoff said in a video shared by the Forum. “Like I’m doing something. Feels like a completely unselfish act to help somebody else.”
In comments aired by Kan, Witkoff added: “Edan told me that when the president was elected, he began to get treated well. And that’s a really interesting data point - that people evidently are being treated better there, because Hamas is afraid of Donald Trump. And the truth is, they should be.”
Alexander’s family, from Tenafly, New Jersey, expressed deep gratitude to those involved in his release. His mother Yael, speaking from the hospital, said her son had suffered from a lack of water, food and medical aid while in captivity and had feared Israeli strikes.
She thanked Trump, Witkoff and Boehler, saying they had “worked day and night to bring back my son”.
His father Adi added: “We’ll never be able to express what that means to us, but we’ll never forget the tireless effort on Edan’s behalf; we are in their debt.”
Alexander has since published his first social media post since returning – a selfie of him enjoying a beer with the caption “Home sweet home.”
Channel 12 reported that upon release, Alexander urged Israeli officials and Witkoff to prioritise the return of fellow hostage Matan Zangauker, with whom he had been held for eight months.
Zangauker’s mother, Einav, was informed of this by Witkoff and broke down in tears, concerned for her son’s medical condition.
In a separate interview, Witkoff said: “If we can’t diplomatically solve it, it’s going to be, in my view... one of the worst failures that I can ever endure in my life.”
