Jerusalem, May 11 (EFE) – The Islamist group Hamas announced in a statement Sunday that it will release US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as part of ” intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”
The group, which did not specify when it would release Alexander, announced the decision after talks in recent days with the istration of United States President Donald Trump.
“This communiqué indicates that he is alive,” Taher al Nono, Hamas political bureau press adviser, told EFE.
On April 15, the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed to have lost with Edan Alexander’s kidnappers after an Israeli attack.
Hamas also stressed its readiness to begin negotiations immediately and to make serious efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war.
The group agreed to an independent technical committee to ister the Gaza Strip.
Israel has demanded from the start of the truce talks that Hamas be kept out of the Gaza government, insisting that the group refuses to leave.
In addition, Hamas said Sunday that the new ceasefire agreement would include an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a lasting peace in the enclave that would allow for its reconstruction and an end to the blockade on goods.
Edan Alexander is the only living hostage with US citizenship among the 59 remaining captives in Gaza.
Israeli authorities estimate that 24 are still alive; however, local media has reported in recent days that there are doubts about three of them.
Hamas released a video, possibly scripted, showing Alexander shouting and gesticulating sharply, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the lack of a deal for his release.
The hostage, now 21 (kidnapped when he was 19), came to Israel for military service even though his family does not live in the country.
He was stationed near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attack on Israeli territory.
On that day, Hamas-led militias from Gaza invaded Israeli territory, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others.
Following this attack, Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip, which continues to this day and has claimed the lives of more than 52,800 people, in addition to subjecting the population to an increasingly urgent humanitarian crisis with blockades on access to goods such as food or medicine.EFE
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