Hamas releases last living American hostage
After 583 days in captivity, Hamas released its last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, on Monday.
New Jersey-native, 21-year-old Alexander enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force after graduating high school in 2022. He was stationed near the Gaza border when he was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Sunday night, President Donald Trump announced his release on Truth Social. 'I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,' he wrote.
The president thanked Qatar and Egypt for working as mediators to help release Alexander.
Hamas abducted 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, and 59 still remain in Gaza. Of the 59, the Israel Defense Force believes that at least 35 are dead.
The bodies of four remaining American hostages are still being held in Gaza. They include Omer Neutra, 21; Itay Chen, 19; Gadi Haggai, 73; and Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70.
Alexander's mother, Yael, traveled to Israel to be with her son immediately after his release, special envoy for hostages taken by Hamas, Adam Boehler, wrote on X, Sunday night.
'Today, on Mother's Day, we received the greatest gift imaginable — news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza,' the family wrote in a statement, per The Washington Post. 'We express our deepest gratitude to President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the U.S. administration for their tireless work to make this happen.'
They continued, 'We urge the Israeli government and the negotiating teams: please don't stop. We hope our son's release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families.'
'No hostage should be left behind,' they wrote.
Hamas's lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said Hamas agreed to free Alexander after talks with the U.S., but he did not say what the group expected to receive in return, according to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Hamas would not be receiving anything for releasing Alexander.
'The expected release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander without anything in return will be possible due to the vigorous policy that we have led with the backing of President Trump,' the Israeli Prime Minister's office stated, per the Jerusalem Post.
President Trump is set to head to the Middle East for a four-day trip on Monday, and The New York Times reported that the timely release of the last American hostage could be 'a possible effort to gain favor' with the president, in hopes that the U.S. will pressure Israel into a ceasefire.
The war started by Hamas on Oct. 7, has led to tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza, as well as the deaths of more than a thousand Israelis.
In Alexander's hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, crowds gathered in Huyler Park at 5 a.m. to celebrate the 21-year-old's release, per the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A message was sent out over text, email and WhatsApp on Sunday Night, encouraging people to gather. It said, 'Yes, it's early. And yes, it might be a little cold. But we are strong, united and our love will warm us all.'
New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat who has launched a campaign for governor, joined the crowds, as did a founder of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Assi Berman Dayan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
28 minutes ago
- Forbes
U.S.-China Trade Deal ‘Done,' Trump Says
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a trade agreement was reached between the U.S. and China, pending final approval from him and Chinese President Xi Jinping, following weeks of escalated tensions between both countries as trade negotiations were carried out. The trade agreement includes full magnets and 'any necessary rare earths' from China as the U.S. ... More makes concessions on student visas. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said a deal was 'done' between the U.S. and China, which will supply 'any necessary rare earths' and full magnets as the U.S. makes concessions on allowing Chinese students to attend American universities. This is a developing story.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mass. governor's race intensifies as GOP candidates seize on LA protests
If you're a member of the Bay State's political and chattering class, and you needed a reminder that Massachusetts is officially in the thick of a gubernatorial campaign season, then you didn't have to look much further than your email inbox on Monday. There, you would have found dueling press releases from Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, the two former Baker administration officials dueling for the GOP nomination for the Corner Office in 2026. The target, inevitably, was Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who'd signed onto a statement with her fellow Democratic governors criticizing the Trump administration's decision to federalize National Guard forces in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles. The statement, issued through the Democratic Governors Association, took the Republican White House to task for its unusual decision to sidestep Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom when it called in the National Guard — which 700 U.S. Marines have since supplemented. The White House's end-run was 'an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the commanders-in-chief of their National Guard, and activating them within their own borders without consulting or working with a state's governor is ineffective and dangerous,' the DGA's statement asserted. Kennealy, who served as Baker's housing and economic development czar, was first out of the gate at little after 4 p.m., arguing that, by opposing the federal response, the Democratic incumbent was 'legitimizing criminal behavior under the guise of protest.' Shortsleeve, who ran the MBTA under Baker, followed up around 6:30 p.m. He got in a similar shot, condemning Healey for appearing to side with 'rioting protesters waving foreign flags' who were 'violently attacking American law enforcement officers.' Shortsleeve also slammed Healey for her management of the state's hugely expensive migrant crisis and, by implication, her criticism of the aggressive tactics of federal immigration agents as they've rounded up undocumented people across the state. 'If cooperation between the federal and state governments is what she wants, you wouldn't know it by her refusal to work in an orderly way to ensure criminal illegal immigrants in our state were delivered to federal law enforcement for deportation instead of released onto our streets,' Shortsleeve said. Kennealy, who didn't explicitly mention the migrant crisis, but who has been publicly critical, observed that 'when the federal government offers help to restore order and protect citizens, we take it — because doing the right thing for our people should always come before scoring partisan points.' Read More: Rümeysa Öztürk chose grace over bitterness. What we can learn | John L. Micek Taken together, the broadsides from the two Republican hopefuls were a reminder that the migrant crisis, which has subsided in its intensity, remains a potent line of attack, and that the Democratic incumbent remains vulnerable on the issue. More than half of respondents (52%) to a UMass Amherst/WCVB-TV poll in February, for instance, said they disapproved of the Arlington Democrat's management of the shelter crisis. Their mood was reflective of national trends. A broader UMass poll in April found Americans to be of 'two minds' on the issue, supporting a path to citizenship, even as they supported the White House's moves against migrants with criminal records. A CBS News poll completed before Saturday's unrest in Los Angeles, however, provided a reminder that public patience for the White House's tactics extends only so far. That's because support for enforcement against non-criminals drops off precipitously, the poll found. While 55% of respondents approved of Trump's deportation goals, only 44% approved of his approach to the deportation effort. Healey, in public appearances, repeatedly has drawn that line. She's stressed that she supports taking criminals off the streets, even as she's decried the apparent shroud of secrecy that's enveloped the apprehension of such noncriminal migrants as Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk and Milford High School student-athlete Marcelo Gomes da Silva. Read More: Gov. Healey demands answers after ICE arrests Mass. high school student 'This is part of the problem that we're seeing with ICE across the country. And certainly here in Massachusetts, people are being picked up. We have no information about their circumstances,' Healey said after an unrelated news conference at the State House last month. 'There have been real questions raised about due process and whether or not ICE and immigration officials are ... complying with due process here and in other states. And we need answers.' It's not clear, however, if the Massachusetts voters were grasping the subtlety of that policy fine line. An internal poll by Kennealy's campaign pointed to a similar vulnerability for Healey on immigration issues, The Boston Herald reported last month. And 49% of respondents to a University of New Hampshire poll last week said they approved of her job performance, compared to 45% who said they disapproved. With the poll's 3.3% margin of error, that's a statistical dead heat. Even still, Healey's loyalists pounced on the UNH canvass, dismissing it as an outlier, as they pointed to other public polling that showed her more broadly popular overall. 'Governor Healey is going to earn reelection because she understands Massachusetts people need someone who's going to fight to lower costs for them, going to fight to increase housing opportunities for them, going to fight back against Donald Trump,' state Democratic Party Chairperson Steve Kerrigan said during an interview on WBZ-TV's 'Keller @ Large' program that aired last weekend. 'And frankly, neither Mike Kennealy nor Brian Shortsleeve are willing to do any of that.' The lingering question is what happens if Massachusetts, which already has been targeted by the White House, finds itself facing a Los Angeles-style protest that results in Trump doing a gubernatorial end-run by federalizing the state National Guard or, at its extreme end, dispatching U.S. troops to Boston or some other city. If elected, would Kennealy or Shortsleeve acquiesce in the face of such an action? Or would they protest a usurpation of their executive authority? At that point, the question moves from political to practical. Healey staked out her territory with that DGA statement. The responses from Shortsleeve and Kennealy would speak volumes about how they intend to lead during what presumably would be the final two years of Trump's term. That's something that Massachusetts voters would have to decide for themselves. Which makes their answers bear watching. Can the Mass. GOP flip this Taunton state House seat? | Bay State Briefing Mass. lawmakers get bad grades on industry report card. But who's failing whom? | John L. Micek Math is hard. Midterm math is harder. The lessons Mass. needs to learn for 2026 | John L. Micek Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu's government faces possible collapse as the opposition seeks to dissolve it
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faces a major test on Wednesday after the opposition submitted a bill to dissolve the government, with his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners threatening to support the measure and force early elections. The ultra-Orthodox parties are furious that the government has failed to pass a law exempting their community from mandatory military service, an issue that has bitterly divided the Israeli public during the war in the Gaza Strip. While many expect a last-minute compromise, the vote is the most serious challenge to Netanyahu's government since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the biggest security failure in Israel's history. The opposition submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset, Israel's parliament. In response, coalition members submitted numerous bills, packing Wednesday's schedule and buying time for last-minute negotiations. The dissolution vote, if it is not pulled, is expected to take place late at night. Separately, Argentina's President Javier Milei will address the Knesset on Wednesday. Even if the bill passes, it could take weeks or months for new elections to be called. If the bill fails, another vote for dissolution cannot be brought again for at least six months. The opposition could pull the bill if there isn't enough support and submit it again in the coming weeks. Netanyahu's coalition includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, and both would need to support the dissolution bill for it to pass. On Tuesday, top Haredi rabbis issued a religious decree emphasizing their stand against military service, which complicates the Haredi politicians' ability to negotiate. Military service is mandatory for most Jews in Israel, but the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The ultra-Orthodox, also known as Haredim, or 'God-fearing' in Hebrew, say that integrating into the army threatens their traditional way of life. Israel is engaged in the longest active war in the country's history, which has stretched its military to the breaking point. The Haredim's widespread refusal to serve, and threats to topple the government during wartime, have enraged many Israelis, especially those who have served multiple rounds of reserve duty. Since the start of the war, 866 Israeli soldiers have been killed. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
