Hamas to release Israeli-American hostage in bid to secure Gaza ceasefire

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Hamas said on Sunday it would release an Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza as a goodwill gesture to Donald Trump, ahead of a visit to the Middle East this week by the US president.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said the move to release Edan Alexander was being taken after talks with US officials, where the Palestinian militant group showed a “high level of positivity” in a bid to secure a ceasefire with Israel and end the war in Gaza.

Alexander “will be released as part of the steps being taken to achieve a ceasefire . . . and allow the entry of aid and humanitarian relief for our people in the Gaza Strip”, Hayya added.

A US official said Alexander could be freed as soon as Monday, and a diplomat briefed on the talks with Hamas confirmed the agreement to release him came about after America engaged directly with the militant group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel was informed of the release by the US, and there were no “conditions or anything in exchange” attached to it.

The diplomat briefed on the talks confirmed that the planned freeing of Alexander was not yet part of a wider ceasefire deal with Israel, and that the Israelis were not expected to release Palestinian prisoners it holds in its jails in return.

But Israel was expected to halt its offensive in Gaza during the release, as mediators persist with efforts to thrash out a new ceasefire agreement.

The previous deal collapsed in March after Netanyahu ordered a restart of the Israel Defense Forces’ offensive in Gaza in an attempt to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it holds. Israel has also cut off all aid to Gaza, intensifying a humanitarian crisis in the territory.

Alexander, 21, was seized by Hamas while serving in the Israeli military during the group’s cross-border assault from Gaza on October 7 2023, which triggered the war.

Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel on that day, and took a further 250 hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people, officials in the Hamas-controlled territory have said.

A total of 59 hostages are still held by Hamas, more than half of whom are believed by Israel to be dead, including four Israeli-American dual nationals. Alexander is thought to be the last living Israeli-American held by Hamas.

Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage response, said Alexander’s planned release was the result of a “tremendous effort by the US” and that “President Trump was travelling to the region and wanted to get it done”. He added Alexander would be freed on Monday.

“It’s a positive step forward and we would also ask that Hamas release the bodies of four other Americans that were taken,” Boehler said.

Trump is expected to begin a multi-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar this week.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been attempting for weeks to revive stalled talks between Israel and Hamas, and secure a new ceasefire.

Netanyahu has consistently refused to meet Hamas’s core demand of ending the war in return for all of the remaining hostages, vowing instead last week to expand the military campaign in Gaza until the group was fully defeated.

The Israeli premier said earlier this month that while bringing the hostages home was a “very important goal” in the war, the “ultimate goal is the victory over our enemies”.

In his statement on Sunday, Netanyahu confirmed the US expected Alexander’s release to lead to renewed ceasefire talks, although he again insisted any deal would only be a temporary multi-week truce that secured the release of more hostages who are still alive.

Israeli officials last week said that the end of Trump’s regional visit provided a “window of opportunity” for Hamas to release more hostages before Israel expanded its new offensive in Gaza.

This could involve the IDF retaking control of all Gaza and pushing much of its 2.2mn people into a sliver of land in the territory’s south.

“Negotiations will be held under fire, based on the commitment to achieve all of the objectives of the war,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.