Hamas let Edan Alexander Vrij, the last living American hostage who kept it in Gaza, on Monday evening, after mediators had mediated a deal between the group and the United States who largely bypassed the Israeli government. Hamas and the Israeli army confirmed the transfer.
Mr Alexander’s release came on the eve of a visit from President Trump to the Middle East, and was Displayed by Hamas officials As an attempt to get us support for a wider deal to end the war.
Mr. Alexander, 21, was seized one of the approximately 250 people and brought to Gaza during the attack on Israel guided by Hamas on October 7, 2023, who ignited the war in Gaza. A double Israeli American national that served in the Israeli army was imprisoned that morning from a military function. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel after high school to join the army.
Unlike most other hostages, Mr. Alexander was released without a formally announced Stakes-Fires between Israel and Hamas, in which the failure of efforts to secure a wider truce between the two parties. Hamas still has at least 20 living hostages – together with about 40 dead bodies, including those of various Americans – but it is reluctant to release more of them, unless Israel agrees to keep negotiations to end the war. Israel wants the right to continue the war after a future ceasefire, which leads to an impasse in the conversations.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, said in a statement on Monday that Mr. Alexander’s release showed the benefits of placing Hamas, among other things, military pressure. In March, Mr Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army Break an earlier ceasefireSaying that it would force the group to release more hostages and to lead to his total military defeat.
But critics of Mr Netanyahu’s strategy have said that Mr Alexander’s release emphasized the failure of such an approach, because he was mainly released because of the American pressure instead of Israeli action. Growing numbers of Israelis support the closing of a deal to free all hostages, even if such a truce would require Mr Netanyahu to make a compromise, end the war and allow Hamas to survive. Mr Netanyahu announced on Monday that he would send a delegation to participate in negotiations on a temporary ceasefire, whereby he disappoints those who want him to agree with a permanent ceasefire to free all hostages.
As a result, the relatives of hostages who were still in Gaza said in Gaza, they had mixed feelings about the release of Mr. Alexander. Many gathered in Tel Aviv on Monday to ask for a wider deal.
Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is still being held in Gaza, Hewas said happy for Mr. Alexander, but frustrated that he was released “only because he is an American citizen.”
Yet Mr. Cohen saw hope in how Mr. Trump was willing to bypass the Lord Netanyahu. “He loses patience,” said Mr. Cohen about the Lord Trump. “We hope that it is a new start of a new hostage dealer, which forces Netanyahu to end the war, to get all hostages.”
Mr. Trump helped to feed such hope by announcing on social media on Sunday that Mr Alexander’s release could “be the first of those last steps that are necessary to end this brutal conflict.”
American officials Personally With Hamas leaders this year, before they split in contact after complaints from Israel. It is unclear whether direct contact was resumed to broke the release of Mr. Alexander.
Adam Boehler, one of the American officials who met Hamas this year, posted a photo of himself with the mother of Mr. Alexander, Yael, while they took the same plane from the United States to Israel to greet Mr Alexander about his release.
Without the end of the war in sight, aid organizations have warned of a growing risk of hunger in Gaza. A initiative supported by the United Nations that monitors malnutrition, the integrated classification of the food safety phase, said on Monday that Israel was in the risk of causing a famine if it would continue with planned military progress in the coming weeks. In such a situation, the initiative said in a new one report“The vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip would not have access to food, water, shelter and medicines.”
Israel has had since March Blocked all food and fuel supplies To the territory, a large part of which is occupied by Israeli troops, saying that it wanted to stop making deliveries and profit to reach Hamas.
Citizens have borne the victims of Israel’s limitations. The fuel embargo has made it almost impossible to distribute food to certain parts of Gaza, and the lack of new food supplies has ensured that existing stocks decreased. At the end of April, the World Food Program announced that his food stocks in the territory was on, while the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it no longer had any supplies of flower.
Gabby Sobelman And Rawan Sheikh Ahmad contributed reporting.
- Advertisement -
