Edan Alexander was 19 when he left New Jersey to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. He was released by Hamas on Monday.

U.S. officials told families of hostages still held in Gaza they see a better chance of a deal for their release after Washington reached an accord with militant group Hamas for an American hostage's freedom that largely bypassed the Israeli government.

Edan Alexander was 19 when Hamas militants stormed the Israeli military base where the American-Israeli from New Jersey was a soldier and dragged him into the Gaza Strip.

Hamas on Monday released Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza after 18 months in captivity.

Although he fought hard to survive more than 500 days of captivity in Gaza, Israeli Omer Wenkert says he is not free. As long as hostages are being held in the Palestinian enclave, his torment will not end.

The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel shattered a ceasefire in March comes shortly before Trump visits the Middle East this week.

Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier raised in New Jersey, is believed to be the last living U.S. citizen captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Four other Americans' bodies are still held in Gaza.

For Mr Alexander, his family and the many Israelis who have been campaigning for the hostages in Gaza, his release brought relief and joy. For Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, it was a moment of diplomatic embarrassment.

During a business roundtable in Qatar on Thursday, May 16, President Donald Trump once again suggested a U.S. takeover of Gaza as a way of attempting to redevelop the Palestinian territory. “I think I’d be proud to have the United States have it,