Hamas says Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid.
The Hamas statement Sunday night does not say when the release will happen. The announcement comes shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East this week. Trump is not planning to visit Israel.
Alexander is an Israeli American soldier who grew up in the United States. He was abducted from his base during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war in Gaza.
There was no immediate response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Netanyahu’s government was angered by U.S. direct talks with Hamas earlier this year.
Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the U.S. administration over the past few days.
Israel has approved a plan to intensify military operations against Hamas by seizing Gaza, establishing new bases and staying for an unspecified amount of time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the population of Gaza will be moved to the south.
A previous version of this video contained the incorrect number of hostages.
Al-Hayyah said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats.
Alexander’s parents did not immediately return requests for comment.
Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have frequently mentioned Alexander, now 21, by name in the past few months. Witkoff is expected to visit Israel in the coming hours.
“Every time they say Edan’s name, it’s like they didn’t forget. They didn’t forget he’s American, and they’re working on it,” Edan’s mother, Yael Alexander, told The Associated Press in February.
Hamas released a video of Alexander in November during the Thanksgiving weekend, his favourite holiday, his mother said. The video was difficult to watch as he cried and pleaded for help, but it was a relief to see the most recent sign that he was alive, she said.
A native of Tenafly, N.J., where his parents and two younger siblings still live, Alexander moved to Israel in 2022 after high school and enlisted in the military.
Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Bombardment continues
Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another seven people were killed in strikes elsewhere, including a man and his child in a Gaza City neighborhood, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes.
Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.
The UN and aid groups say food and other supplies are running low and hunger is widespread. Aid groups say the humanitarian crisis is worse than at any time in the 19-month war.
Children carrying empty bottles raced after a water tanker in a devastated area of northern Gaza on Sunday. Residents of the built-up Shati refugee camp said the water was brought by a charity from elsewhere in Gaza. Without it, they rely on wells that are salty and often polluted.
Children in Gaza are showing signs of acute malnutrition as Israel’s aid blockade stretches into its third month. Israel has said it plans to take over aid distribution in the coming weeks and has approved plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip for an unspecified amount of time.
“I am forced to drink salty water, I have no choice,” said Mahmoud Radwan. “This causes intestinal disease, and there’s no medicine to treat it.”
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, says enough aid entered during a two-month ceasefire this year and that two of the three main water lines from Israel are still functioning.
Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour that will not include Israel.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90 per cent of its population of around two million.
