Edan Alexander, 21, who was believed to be the final residing American citizen held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, was launched on Monday.
The militant group handed over Mr. Alexander as a part of a deal negotiated instantly with america, with minimal Israeli involvement. President Trump had centered on his launch since a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March.
On Monday, Mr. Trump stated Mr. Alexander was being launched and congratulated “his great dad and mom, household, and pals!” The discharge comes as Mr. Trump is ready to journey to the Center East.
Who’s Edan Alexander?
Mr. Alexander is an American Israeli twin citizen who grew up in Tenafly, N.J.
In 2022, throughout his senior yr of highschool, he joined Garin Tzabar, which prepares younger individuals from around the globe to hitch the Israel Protection Forces. He moved to Israel to serve within the navy after he graduated and was assigned to the infantry.
Mr. Alexander was stationed close to the border with Gaza in September 2023.
How was he taken hostage?
Mr. Alexander was kidnapped in the course of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel that ignited the battle in Gaza. He was taken from a tiny navy outpost close to the border with Gaza.
Final yr, Hamas launched a video of him.
An American Israeli good friend of Mr. Alexander, Omer Neutra, who was serving in the identical put up, was additionally taken by Hamas.
In December, the White Home introduced that Mr. Neutra was killed on Oct. 7 and that Hamas had been holding his stays because the assault. He was 21.
How has Mr. Alexander’s household responded?
His dad and mom, Adi and Yael Alexander, had been born in Israel, they usually have two different kids. They’ve advocated relentlessly for Mr. Alexander’s freedom, assembly with officers and talking at rallies.
“We reside in agony every day that passes with out our son,” his dad and mom wrote in a visitor essay for The New York Occasions in September after the invention of the physique of one other hostage, the Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
On Sunday, the Alexanders traveled to Israel with Trump administration officers. In a press release, the household known as his coming return “the best present conceivable” and urged Israel’s authorities to barter the discharge of the remaining captives, saying, “No hostage must be left behind.”
What’s his situation?
The navy stated in a press release after the handover that he was on his solution to Israel and would bear an preliminary medical evaluation and meet together with his household.
In photos and video shared by the Israeli authorities on Monday, Mr. Alexander regarded pale however seemed to be strolling usually and was smiling. He enthusiastically reunited with kinfolk.