Hamas releases Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander after direct talks with U.S.

Israeli soldier and American citizen Edan Alexander was released today by the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, which had held him captive in Gaza since October 2023. The Israeli public broadcasting service confirmed on Monday afternoon that Alexander was handed over to the International Red Cross in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Earlier in the day, an Israeli military helicopter transported several of Alexander’s family members to the Israeli Re’im military base on the outskirts of Gaza in preparation to receive the captive soldier as U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel.

The release of Alexander comes less than 24 hours after Hamas first announced on Sunday that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. following direct talks with Washington. According to Hamas, the talks did not include any Israeli participation. On Monday, Hamas senior official Mahmoud Mardawi told the Arab satellite channel, Al-Ghad, that the release of the U.S.-Israeli captive was a “goodwill gesture” meant to revive ceasefire talks and open a path to permanently ending the war.

Following the release of Alexander, Hamas said in a statement that the release was “within the framework of efforts made by mediators to reach a ceasefire and allow the entry of aid to our people in the Gaza Strip.” Hamas’s statement added that “serious and responsible negotiations will achieve the release of [Israeli] prisoners, whereas the continuation of the [Israeli] aggression increases the captives’ suffering and may kill them.” Hamas also affirmed its readiness to start immediate talks to end the war.

What does the timing of Edan Alexander’s release mean?

The timing of the agreement to release Alexander comes on the eve of U.S. President Trump’s visit to the region, which notably does not include Israel but is scheduled to include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The agreement with Hamas also comes a few days after the U.S. reached a ceasefire arrangement with Yemen’s Ansar Allah (commonly known as “the Houthis”), which ended the U.S. offensive on the country in exchange for the halt of attacks on U.S. ships in the Red Sea. Notably, this deal also excluded Israel, which was reportedly blindsided by the agreement, and it did not include any stipulation that Yemen would halt its attacks on Israel or Israeli ships in the Red Sea. 

Finally, all of this comes in the context of the U.S.’s ongoing direct talks with Iran concerning its nuclear program, contrary to the stated Israeli preference of escalating military confrontations with the Islamic Republic.

These events indicate that the U.S. has been charting its own independent strategy in the Middle East that does not necessarily dovetail with Israeli interests, much less Netanyahu’s interest in continuing his onslaught on Gaza. On Monday, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Steve Witkoff had told the families of Israeli captives in Gaza that the U.S. “wants to release them, but Israel isn’t ready to end the war,” adding that “Israel is prolonging the war despite the fact that no progress can be achieved.”

Edan Alexander was the last living U.S. citizen to be held captive in Gaza before his release. In mid-March, Hamas offered to release Alexander along with the remains of four deceased Israeli captives, in exchange for resuming talks to end the war, which is strikingly similar to the current agreement under which Alexander is being released. At the time, Washington rejected the offer, with Witkoff calling the offer “disingenuous.” Four days later, Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the bombing of Gaza. A month later, the al-Qassam Brigades announced that they had lost contact with the unit guarding Alexander following a direct Israeli strike on the location where he was being held, casting doubt over whether he was dead or alive. His well-being was only confirmed yesterday with the announcement that he would be released as part of the U.S.-Hamas agreement.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Monday that Hamas’s release of Alexander “without anything in exchange” was the result of Israel’s policy of “military pressure,” the Israeli term for the blocking of humanitarian aid and the carpet-bombing of Gaza. Netanyahu also said that Israel was not committed to a ceasefire in Gaza or to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander’s release, stating that Israel would only “ensure a safe pathway” for his release. However, later on Monday, Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel would send a negotiating team to Qatar on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced the temporary halt of all its operations in the Gaza Strip until Alexander’s release.

This comes days after the Israeli war cabinet approved a new ground offensive on Gaza, aiming to directly occupy and hold the strip indefinitely. This strategy also formalizes the plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza through so-called “voluntary migration.” Israel had issued the order to mobilize tens of thousands of reserve soldiers, with Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, saying that the operation would only start after Trump’s visit to the region. 

Netanyahu’s office said that Israel would call off the upcoming ground offensive if Hamas accepts the previously rejected proposal offered by Witkoff to release 8 of the 24 living Israeli captives in exchange for a 42-day ceasefire, without any commitment from Israel to ending the war.

Meanwhile, the total Israeli blockade on the entry of goods and aid into the Strip has entered its second month, leading to a severe lack of food and basic goods for more than two million people in Gaza, including one million children. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 57 Palestinians, mostly children, have died of malnutrition since October 2023.

Israel’s bombing of Gaza has killed at least 60 Palestinians since last Saturday alone. On Sunday, Israeli warplanes killed 18 Palestinians in a single strike on a school sheltering displaced families, including at least five children. Since October 2023, the Israeli war on Gaza has killed no less than 52,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women, children, and the elderly according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, while over 119,000 have been wounded.