Edan Alexander, the dual Israeli-American national held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has been reunited with his family following his release on Monday evening.
The release of the Israeli army soldier came after mediators brokered a deal between Hamas and the United States that largely circumvented the Israeli government.
In images and video that the Israeli authorities shared Monday following his release, Mr Alexander, looking pale but smiling, enthusiastically greeted his family with hugs and exclamations of joy.
According to reports in Israeli news media, the released captive said that he had been held in a cage in a Hamas underground tunnel with his hands and feet bound and ate little.
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Unlike most other hostages, Mr Alexander was released without a formally announced ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, highlighting the failure of efforts to secure a broader truce between the two sides.
Hamas still holds at least 20 living hostages – along with about 40 dead bodies, including those of several Americans – but it is reluctant to release 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, leading to an impasse in the talks.
Mr Alexander’s release came on the eve of a visit by president Donald Trump to the Middle East, and was portrayed by Hamas officials as an attempt to secure US support for a wider deal to end the war.
Mr Alexander (21) was among roughly 250 people seized and taken to Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, that ignited the war in Gaza.
He was captured from a military post that morning. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel after high school to join the military.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement Monday that Mr Alexander’s release showed the benefits of placing Hamas under greater military pressure.
But critics of Mr Netanyahu’s strategy have said Mr Alexander’s release instead highlighted the failure of such an approach, since he was being released mainly because of US pressure rather than Israeli action.
Growing numbers of Israelis support securing a deal to free all hostages, even if such a truce would require Mr Netanyahu to compromise, end the war, and allow Hamas to survive.
Mr Netanyahu announced Monday that he would send a delegation to join negotiations for a temporary ceasefire, disappointing those who want him to agree to a permanent truce.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
