After 584 days in Gaza: IDF soldier Edan Alexander released from Hamas captivity, arrives in Israel

Dual Israeli-U.S. citizen and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldier, Edan Alexander, arrived in Israel shortly before 8 p.m. local time, 584 days after he was kidnapped and kept in captivity by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Following separate negotiations between the U.S. and Hamas, the terrorists transferred Alexander to the Red Cross in the Khan Younis area, without any of the cynical propaganda spectacles it put on during the previous hostage releases.

Israeli troops received Alexander and brought him to a special reception area in an IDF base Re’im, from where will be transported to a hospital after meeting his family.

לוחם גדוד 51 של גולני עידן אלכסנדר מועבר לצלב האדום pic.twitter.com/nuMh1zR9Ec

— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller) May 12, 2025

The Red Cross said that his health condition was “intact,” while Channel 12 reported that his condition was “poor,” while citing an Israeli official who said Alexander was smiling and able to walk on his own “with a little help.”

Alexander experienced abuse and violence, as well as long days of starvation, i24 News reported.

Alexander was also met by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who had led negotiations, U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response, Adam Boehler, and Israel’s hostage coordinator, Gal Hirsch.

Trump's senior envoys @SteveWitkoff and @aboehler await, together with @galhirsch2015 and Eden Alexander family, for his release pic.twitter.com/vW3gDAQD4k

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 12, 2025

Earlier in the evening, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the impending release of Alexander before boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia, where he will start a Middle East trip.

“They thought he was dead just a short while ago,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to a Hamas claim last month that it had lost contact with the terror squad guarding Alexander amid Israeli bombardments.

Trump said Alexander was now “the only American citizen” still being held hostage. However, the bodies of four other U.S. citizens are among the 58 hostages who are still in Gaza: Judith Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai, Itay Chen and Omer Neutra.

Israeli media reported that the Alexander family agreed that if his condition allowed it, Edan Alexander would be flown to Qatar later this week to thank Trump and Qatari officials for his release.

"I am relieved that American Edan Alexander finally gets to come home," U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee wrote on X.

"As @POTUS said, we hope that this long-overdue release marks the beginning of the end to this terrible war. Hamas alone is responsible for the continued death and suffering. We demand the immediate release of all remaining hostages."

The moment news broke that Edan Alexander has been transferred to the Red Cross taxi service. pic.twitter.com/Y7QnnUMEou

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) May 12, 2025

The announcement that Alexander was in Israeli hands came several minutes before 7 p.m., almost half an hour later than was announced beforehand, and was greeted with jubilation by large crowds who gathered on Tel Aviv’s hostage square to follow the developments on large TV screens, including many of Alexander’s friends.

Earlier on Monday, protesters marched through Tel Aviv before gathering at the U.S. embassy to protest the “special treatment” of U.S. citizen Alexander and demand a deal to free all remaining hostages.

Alexander grew up in New Jersey and immigrated to Israel to enlist in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. He was kidnapped from his base near the Gaza border during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion and massacre.

He is the first male IDF soldier to be released by Hamas since then. The terror group still holds 14 male Israeli soldiers, eight of whom have been declared dead, including the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in a war with Hamas in 2014.