Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was released on Monday after 584 days in captivity as part of a deal between the United States and Hamas.
The deal was reached after several days of direct negotiation between American officials and Hamas. Israel was only updated about the arrangement after the deal was finalized.
The development also came just a day before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to start an official visit to several Middle Eastern countries, and speculation ran wild about what Trump may announce during his trip.
Israel is not one of Trump’s destinations, although reportedly that may change if a deal to end the war is reached while he is still in the region.
‘If I don’t go, someone else will have to stay’
Alexander was born in Israel, but grew up in New Jersey. When he was 18, he made Aliyah and enlisted in the IDF. He served in the Golani Brigade and was stationed at the Kissufim outpost on the Gaza border.
Shortly before he was kidnapped, Alexander’s mother, Yael, was visiting Israel to spend the Sukkot holiday with him. Despite her visit, he returned to his post on the Gaza border for Simchat Torah (October 7), telling his mother, “If I don’t go, someone else will have to stay there.”
Alexander was kidnapped by Hamas from the Kissufim outpost in the October 7, 2023 attacks and has been held by the terrorist group in Gaza since.
Will Edan’s release lead to a larger deal?
Hamas said that it agreed to release Alexander “as part of the steps taken to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow the entry of aid and relief to our people in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas added that it was ready to “immediately begin intensive negotiations and exert serious efforts” to reach a ceasefire agreement to end the war and release the hostages. The terrorist movement also said that it would support such a deal even if it replaces their control of Gaza with an “independent, professional body.”
In a Truth Social post about the agreement, Trump referred to the release as “a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones.”
The president added that he hoped that this would be “the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”
Trump’s announcement, which did not mention Israel, sparked speculation that he was planning further steps to increase pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire deal.
Trump’s visit to the Middle East
Trump is set to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates over the next week, holding meetings with leaders from across the region.
The visit is expected to focus on economic deals between the U.S. and Gulf states, including a possible deal that would allow Saudi Arabia to develop a nuclear energy program. While the U.S. had pushed in recent years for any such deal to include steps toward Saudi-Israel normalization, Trump has reportedly dropped that precondition.
In the background of the visit, though, is the ongoing effort to reach a new hostage and ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
The Saudi Asharq news outlet reported on Sunday that the U.S. proposed a new Gaza ceasefire deal which would allow Hamas to continue to rule as long as it demilitarized. The deal would begin with the release of 10 Israeli hostages and an unclear number of Palestinian prisoners, and a 70-day ceasefire during which a final negotiation would be negotiated.
Additionally, a Hamas source told Asharq that it presented mediators with a comprehensive deal which would see the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for a certain number of Palestinian prisoners, the end of the war, and the administration of Gaza by an “independent professional body.”
A proposal advanced by Egypt several months ago also called for an independent, professional body to run the Gaza Strip, but only for several months before the Palestinian Authority would take full control. The Palestinian Authority governed Gaza in 2005, after Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip, but was overthrown by Hamas in a violent coup just two years later.
The Hamas source told Asharq that a deal would also include “security arrangements” such as “the safekeeping of weapons by mediators, the cessation of military training, military manufacturing, and tunnel digging, and the cessation of arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip for the duration of the calm period.”
Informed sources also told Asharq that some Arab leaders have proposed to Trump that he present an initiative to end the war during his visit to the region and impose it on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Arab leaders have expressed optimism that this may occur, according to the report, due to indications that the U.S. is dissatisfied with Israel’s handling of the war.
An American source told CNN on Sunday that after Alexander’s release, immediate negotiations would begin for a broader deal to end the war.
Over the past week, Israel has said that the end of Trump’s visit is the deadline for a new deal. If one isn’t reached by then, a more intensive operation will be launched in Gaza. The new operation would see the IDF maintain control of the areas it enters to prevent a resurgence by Hamas in those areas, as has been seen throughout the war. Some government ministers have said that Israel will take permanent control of at least parts of northern Gaza if a deal isn’t reached.
In recent weeks, the relationship between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly become tense. The two have run into disagreements concerning a ceasefire in Gaza, a ceasefire with the Houthis, and a new nuclear deal with Iran, among other issues.
