The family of Edan Alexander, an American held captive in Gaza, protests for his release in December 2024 in New York City. (Alon Kaplun)

(JTA) — Hamas has released Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli citizen, back to Israel under a deal reached with the United States.

The release, conducted Monday evening in Gaza, may inaugurate a new phase in the hostage crisis that has consumed Israel since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, taking 251 captives and opening the war in Gaza.

“I’m very happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who until recently most thought was no longer living, thought was dead, is going to be released in about two hours,” President Donald Trump said at a press conference Monday morning. “He’s coming home to his parents, which is great news.”

Israeli media reported at 6:30 p.m. local time that Hamas said it had transferred Alexander to the Red Cross after 584 days in captivity. He was handed over to the Israeli military, which brought him to Israel. There, he was due to meet his parents Adi and Yael Alexander, as well as other family members, and will undergo medical examinations.

“It’s an out of body experience, it’s very exciting, we couldn’t sleep all night,” Adi Alexander said in a phone interview broadcast on Israeli Channel 12. “I saw the picture, he’s handsome, standing on his feet. That’s what’s important… He’s a little pale, thin, but a tall boy. This is my boy.”

He vowed to keep advocating for the rest of the hostages held by Hamas.

Hostage releases have happened before, but this was the first that was arranged directly between the terror group and the United States — without Israel’s knowledge or involvement. It is also the first time Hamas has released a living male Israeli soldier on active duty. And it means that, as of now, for the first time in more than a year and a half, there are no living Americans who are still held hostage in Gaza.

Alexander was born to Israeli parents living in Tenafly, New Jersey, and enlisted in the Israeli military. He was serving as a soldier on the Gaza border when he was taken captive in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack at age 19. Alexander, Channel 12 reported, acted as an English-language interpreter between other hostages and their Hamas captors.

Crowds waited in tense anticipation in the hours ahead of Alexander’s release, in Israel, Tenafly and elsewhere. His impending release was announced over the weekend and came as a surprise. It is unclear what Alexander’s release means for the future of the war in Gazam and for the 58 other hostages still held there — up to 23 of whom are thought to still be alive. In recent days Trump has said that three of the hostages thought to be living had died.

Israel announced on Monday that it was sending a negotiation team to Qatar on Tuesday to continue negotiations over the remaining hostages. Israeli media also reported that following the deal for Alexander’s release, Israel would let humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time in two months.

“If confirmed, Edan’s release must mark the beginning of a broader agreement to secure the freedom of all remaining hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing relatives of most of the hostages, said in a statement ahead of Alexander’s release. “We pray that this is not just the beginning of Edan’s return, but of the return of all 59 hostages. No one should be left behind.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not party to the negotiations over Alexander, vowed that the war would continue. He recently said that achieving a military victory in Gaza was more important than returning the hostages, even as polls show that most Israelis believe the opposite.

“Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists but only to a safe corridor that will allow for the release of Edan,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday. “We are in the midst of critical days in which Hamas has been presented with a deal that would enable the release of our hostages. The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting.”

At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, a space dedicated to awareness and advocacy for the captives, a crowd waited for news of Alexander’s return to Israel. There, Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, an American Israeli whose body is being held by Hamas along with those of three other U.S. citizens, praised Trump and compared him favorably to Netanyahu.

“The prime minister needs to learn what leadership is, and what prioritization is, from the American president,” Chen told Israeli Channel 12. “I hope the prime minister understands what leadership is, what it is to see what’s really important. We’ve always felt that the U.S. administration, the current and former one, have given us the feeling they’re doing everything to bring the hostages home.”

The release comes as Trump embarks on a trip to the Middle East. Reports emerged on Monday that Alexander and his family would fly to Qatar — a patron of Hamas and key player in hostage talks — to meet with Trump, who will visit the Gulf nation.

Trump currently has no plans to visit Israel on the trip. The talks with Hamas are one among a number of steps the White House has taken in the region that have raised Israelis’ anxieties that their country is being frozen out of Trump’s plans for the Middle East. Over the weekend, shortly before the announcement of Alexander’s release, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, downplayed reports of a rift between Netanyahu and Trump.

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