Hamas hands over Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander to Red Cross

Relatives of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander arrive ahead of his scheduled release from Hamas captivity in Gaza, in Reim, near the Gaza border, southern Israel, Monday, May 12, 2025.( © Maya Alleruzzo, AP

Hamas released US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since October 2023, on Monday afternoon.

The handover took place in Khan Younis – in the southern Gaza Strip – amid direct talks between Hamas and the United States aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. 

"The (Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades have just released the Zionist soldier and American citizen Edan Alexander, following contacts with the US administration, as part of the efforts undertaken by mediators to achieve a ceasefire," Hamas said in a statement.

An Israeli official confirmed that the transfer of Edan Alexander was under way without providing specifics. The official was not authorised to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump on Monday for helping to secure Alexander's release.

A statement from Netanyahu's office said that in a phone call, he "thanked President Trump for his assistance in the release of (Israeli military) soldier Edan Alexander".

Alexander was snatched from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas's cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

His release is the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, when it unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds.

After Hamas announced on Sunday he would be released, Alexander's family said it “received the greatest gift imaginable – news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza".

Alexander’s parents flew to Israel on Monday. Trump’s hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler, posted a picture on social media showing Alexander's mother, Yael, aboard the flight.

A native of Tenafly, a suburb of New York City, Edan Alexander moved to Israel in 2022 after high school and enlisted in the military. Hamas militants seized him from his military base after he volunteered to stay there over the Jewish Sabbath.

In a video Hamas released of Alexander over Thanksgiving weekend in November 2024, he cried and pleaded for help. Though the video was difficult to watch, his family said, it came as a relief to see he was alive.

Hostages freed since then have given the family more news, his father said. Some said Alexander had lost a lot of weight. Others said he’d been an advocate for fellow hostages, standing up for captive Thai workers and telling their captors that the workers weren't involved in the conflict and should be freed.

Fifty-eight hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip, about 24 who are said to be alive and the remaining are deceased.

Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed in ceasefire deals.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)