The Palestinian movement Hamas has released Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who also has US citizenship, Israeli Prime Minister’s Office adviser Dmitry Gendelman said on Telegram on Tuesday.
“Edan Alexander has been released from Hamas captivity. There are still 58 Israeli citizens remaining in Gaza, and Israel will return all those kidnapped home,” Gendelman wrote.
Alexander was handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He will be received at the Raim base in Israel by US Special Envoy Stephen Witkoff.
The release should be “part of measures to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip,” including the opening of all border crossings with the enclave and the delivery of humanitarian aid, Hamas said.
Israel strikes Gaza’s Nasser hospital as Trump begins Gulf tour
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had carried out strikes against militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to a press release.
According to the IDF, the strikes targeted militants operating from a command and control centre located in the Nasser medical complex.
The IDF press service claims that the complex was used by terrorists to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli military personnel and civilians. The names of the militants killed have not been released.
However, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that two Palestinians, including a media worker, were killed in an Israeli army attack on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
The attacks on Gaza intensified after US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as part of a tour of the Persian Gulf countries, which also includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Trump said his visit to the region would be “historic” and would take place against the backdrop of talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme.