An Israeli-American hostage crossed into Israel yesterday after his release by Hamas as fighting paused in Gaza, the Israeli military said, but there was no deal on a wider truce or hostage release as monitors warned of famine in the devastated enclave.
Israel’s military said it had received Alexander after the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had facilitated his safe transfer from 19 months of captivity to Israeli authorities.
Alexander was the last American held by Hamas.
Al Jazeera television showed a photograph of him standing next to masked fighters and a Red Cross official. Unlike in previous hostage releases, he was wearing civilian clothes.
Fighting halted at midday in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pause its operations to allow safe passage for the hostage release.
Hamas said it was freeing Alexander as a goodwill gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region this week.
“Edan Alexander, American hostage thought dead, to be released by Hamas. Great news!” Trump wrote in capital letters on his social media platform earlier in the day.
The Israeli leader said he spoke with Trump yesterday where the US president expressed commitment to Israel, according to a statement by Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu has said there will be no ceasefire and that plans to intensify military action in Gaza continue.
The release, after four-way talks between Hamas, the United States, Egypt and Qatar, could open the way to freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar and Egypt said Alexander’s release was an encouraging step towards new truce talks. Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on Thursday to discuss a new proposal aimed at securing further hostage releases, Netanyahu’s office said.
Gaza health authorities said an Israeli strike killed at least 15 people sheltering at a school yesterday before fighting paused. Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas fighters there who were preparing an attack.
The global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation and there is a critical risk of famine by September.
The IPC’s latest report cited a significant deterioration in the situation since its last one in October, reflecting warnings from international agencies of an unfolding catastrophe in the small, densely populated Palestinian territory.
It forecast that 2.1m people across Gaza – roughly the entire population – would likely experience high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of September, with 469,500 of them projected to likely hit ‘catastrophic’ levels.
Trump is due to visit Gulf states on a trip that does not include a stop in Israel but special envoy Steve Witkoff, who helped arrange the release, was expected in Israel, two Israeli officials said.
Following a ceasefire agreement that halted fighting in Gaza for two months and allowed the exchange of 38 hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails, Israel resumed its military campaign in the enclave in March.
Since then, it has extended its control of the territory, clearing around a third of what it has described as a ‘security zone’ and blocked off the entry of aid into Gaza, leaving the two million population increasingly short of food.
Last week, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee outlined plans for a new system of aid deliveries by private contractors, but many details are unclear, including on funding.
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed, Palestinian health authorities say, and large swathes of the heavily built-up enclave have been laid to waste.
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