Hamas has agreed to release Edan Alexander, a double American and Israeli citizen who would be the last living American citizen who remains captive in Gaza, weeks after saying that he had lost contact with the group that holds him hostage.
His release is one of the “measures taken to make a cease-fire, open the passages and allow help,” Khalil Al-Hayya, head of the Hamas negotiation team, said on Sunday. Al-Hayya did not provide information on the state of Alexander.
Steve Witkoff, the American special envoy in the Middle East, confirmed the agreement to NBC News and said that he went to Israel to guarantee Alexander's release.
“We probably collect it tomorrow,” said Witkoff. “There has been a long negotiation with many people to thank.”
He then described this as a gesture of goodwill towards President Donald Trump, adding that it is a big moment “largely” because of Trump.
“The family is ecstatic,” said Witkoff.
The Otages Family Forum published a statement on behalf of Alexander's family confirming that it had been informed of the agreement. They are “in continuous contact with the American administration” concerning its potential release in the coming days.
Alexander served in Israeli defense forces when he was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, with around 250 others.
Hamas had previously agreed to release Alexander in March with the bodies of four other two nationals. But weeks later, the militant group said that he had lost contact with the group that held him.
At the time, Hamas blamed the problem of Israeli strikes that hit the area where Alexander was detained.
Hamas and Israel agreed with a temporary ceasefire in January, which led to the release of hostages in exchange for the release of the Palestinians in Israeli police custody. He also experienced an influx of aid for the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
But the fragile cease-fire collapsed in March after the negotiations blocked how to extend the break in hostilities in a lasting end to war.
Al-Hayya added on Sunday that Hamas was ready to negotiate “and to exercise serious efforts to conclude a final agreement to end the war”.
The future of Gaza is not clear after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week that the country's security firm approved a plan to grasp the entire enclave. As part of this plan, more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza would be “moved” from the strip while the soldiers of Israel launched operations to defeat Hamas.
This plan was made public after a full -fledged blockade on the aid to the band by Israel reached its third month. Representatives of the United Nations and Palestinians accused Israel of having used aid as a “weapon of war” at the International Court of Justice last month.
Disagreements on how to approach the situation in Gaza as well as Iran led to tensions between Trump and Netanyahu, according to two American officials, two Diplomats from the Middle East and two other people with knowledge.
While Netanyahu wants to continue a military approach, Trump sees the opportunity to conclude an agreement with an Iran now Maladé, sources told NBC News.
Netanyahu refused reports on SundayInsisting in a video on X that his relationship with Trump was “excellent”. He added that the two allies saw “eyes on almost everything”.
