Hamas liberated Edin Alexander, the American hostage held in Gaza, in a deal with us

Hamas Edin Alexander, the last living hostage of America held in Gaza on Monday evening, released the mediators in a deal between the group and the United States, which was largely defrauded by the Israeli government.

The launch of Mr. Alexander came on the eve of President Trump’s visit to the Middle East, and it was Pictures of Hamas officials As an attempt to secure our support for a wider deal to end the war.

Mr. Alexander, 21, was among approximately 250 people who were seized and transferred to Gaza during the Hamas -led Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the war in Gaza. A double Israeli citizen serving in the Israeli army, who was arrested from a military position that morning. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel after high school to join the army.

In the photos and videos in which the Israeli authorities participated on Monday after his release, Mr. Alexander, who seemed pale but smiling, he received his family enthusiastically with a hug and an exclamation of joy. according to Reports in the Israeli media, The prisoner, who was released, said that he was held in a cage in the enthusiasm underground tunnel with his hands, his feet are binding and ate a little.

Unlike most of the other hostages, Mr. Alexander Duns was released officially of the shooting between Israel and Hamas, with a highlight of The failure of efforts to secure a wider truce Between the two sides. Hamas still holds at least 20 hostages – along with about 40 bodies, including many Americans – but it is hesitant to launch more of them unless Israel agrees to hold negotiations to end the war. Israel wants the right to continue the war after any future truce, which leads to a dead end in the talks.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, said in a statement on Monday that the release of Mr. Alexander showed the benefits of Hamas’s situation under greater military pressure. In March, Mr. Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army Earlier to breakHe said that it will force the group to launch more hostages and lead to its total military defeat.

But critics of Mr. Netanyahu’s strategy said that the release of Mr. Alexander highlighted the failure of such an approach, as he was mainly released due to the pressure we have instead of Israeli action. An increasing number of Israelis supports securing a deal to liberate all hostages, even if such a truce requires Mr. Netanyahu to be equal and ended, and to allow Hamas to survive. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu announced that he would send a delegation to join the temporary ceasefire negotiations, and disappoint those who want him to agree to a permanent truce in order to liberate all hostages.

As a result, relatives of the hostages who are still in Gaza said they had mixed feelings about the release of Mr. Alexander. Many gathered in Tel Aviv on Monday to invite a broader deal.

Judea Cohen, whose son Nimrod is still in Gaza, said he is happy with Mr. Alexander, but he was frustrated because he was released “only because he is an American citizen.”

However, Mr. Cohen saw the hope of how Mr. Trump is ready to work around Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Cohen said of Mr. Trump: “He has lost his patience.” “We hope it will be a new start for a new hostage deal, forcing Netanyahu to end the war and get all the hostages.”

Mr. Trump helped fuel such hopes by announcing on social media on Sunday that the release of Mr. Alexander may be “the first of these is the final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”

American officials Personally With Hamas leaders this year, before storming contact after complaints from Israel. It is not clear whether direct contact has been resumed to the broker launched by Mr. Alexander.

Adam Bouhler, one of the American officials who had enthusiastically this year, has published a picture of himself with the mother of Mr. Alexander, Yael, because they took the same plane from the United States to Israel to salute Mr. Alexander when he was released.

With no end to the war on the horizon, relief agencies have warned of the risk of increasing hunger in Gaza. A United Nations -backed initiative said that it monitors malnutrition, the classification of integrated food security, on Monday, that Israel risked causing famine if it continues in the coming weeks with planned military progress. In such a case, the initiative said in Jadida a report“The vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip will not be able to reach food, water, shelter and medicine.”

Since March, Israel has it I prevented all food and fuel supplies To the region, which many of them are occupied by the Israeli forces, saying that they want to prevent any supplies and profits from reaching Hamas.

Civilians have carried the weight of Israel’s restrictions. The fuel ban has almost impossible to distribute food to certain parts of Gaza, and the lack of new food deliveries has caused the current stocks to diminish. In late April, the World Food Program announced that its food supplies in the region have run out, while the United Nations, which helps the Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it no longer had stocks of flour.

Gabi Sobilman and Sheikh Ahmed Al -Gharraf The reports contributed.