Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and held hostage for more than 19 months, will be released from captivity, Hamas said in a statement Sunday.
The Hamas statement Sunday night said the release was part of ongoing mediation efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid. It does not say when the release will happen. Two Hamas officials told The Associated Press they expect the release in the next 48 hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was aware of Hamas’ plans to release Alexander “as a gesture to the Americans” in a statement to CBS News on Sunday.
“The United States has informed Israel that this move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of the hostages under the original Witkoff outline — which Israel has already accepted,” the office said, referencing terms negotiated by Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East.
“Israel is preparing for the possibility that this move will materialize,” the statement continued. “According to Israeli policy, the negotiations will take place under fire with a commitment to achieving all war goals.”
Alexander is a 20-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey and was a soldier in the Israeli military when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. He was abducted from the military base where he was stationed near the Gaza border, along with 250 people taken hostage that day from southern Israel, while 1,200 more were killed.
“Should this release be confirmed, the release of Edan Alexander must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will secure the freedom of all remaining hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters reacted to the news in a statement.
The group established by the families of the abductees urged President Trump and Netanyahu to bring everyone back.
“You’ve given the families of all the hostages hope,” the statement said. “Please, complete your mission and bring them all home.”
Maya Alleruzzo / AP 
As fighting escalated at the base that morning, Alexander sent a message to his mother, telling her that he had shrapnel caught in his helmet from surrounding explosions but found a protected area. His family lost contact with him after 7 a.m., the Associated Press reported.
“He told me even though things were already getting dangerous around him. That was the last time I heard my son’s voice. I cannot describe the pain of not knowing where your child is or how is he,” Alexander’s mother, Yael Alexander, told CBS New York in October.
She and his father, Adi Alexander, met with former President Joe Biden and President Trump late last year to push for a deal that would free all of the hostages still being held in Gaza. Mr. Trump said earlier this month that fewer than two dozen hostages were believed to be alive. Alexander was thought to be among them.
As attempts to reach a permanent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have drawn on, militants have periodically freed hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. About 100 hostages were returned to Israel during a brief pause in fighting in November 2023, just over a month after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas and begin bombarding Gaza.
Some of the people freed in that first exchange said they had seen Alexander in captivity. His grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, told the Associated Press at the time that hostages had said her grandson kept his cool and encouraged them that everyone would be released soon.
Fewer than 50 living people have been released from Hamas captivity since the temporary ceasefire in November 2023. Militants released 30 of the people between January and March of this year, as part of another exchange agreement with Israel that took place in several stages. Although family members of those in ongoing captivity have repeatedly pleaded with American and Israeli leaders to solidify a deal prioritizing the hostages’ safe return, Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas in March and renewed its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said the death toll has risen to at least 52,000.
Haley Ott
contributed to this report.