Hamas said Edan Alexander, the last American hostage in Gaza, will be part of an effort to establish a ceasefire, reopen to Israel's efforts to block territory and restore aid.
Hamas statement did not say when it happened Sunday night. The news comes soon before U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East this week. Trump does not intend to visit Israel.
Alexander is an Israeli American soldier who grew up in the United States. He kidnapped him from the base during a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which inspired the Gaza war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not respond immediately. Netanyahu's government was outraged in direct negotiations with Hamas earlier this year.
Gaza Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayyah said the group has been in contact with the U.S. government for the past few days.
Israel approved a plan to strengthen military operations against Hamas by seizing Gaza, establishing new bases and maintaining unspecified time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza's population would move to the south. Previous versions of this video contain incorrect hostage numbers.
Al-Hayyah said in a statement that Hamas was ready to “start intensive negotiations immediately” to reach a final agreement for a long truce that included an end to the war, exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the transfer of power to independent technical institutions in Gaza.
Alexander's parents did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump and his envoy Steve Witkoff have frequently mentioned Alexander, 21, over the past few months. Witkov is expected to visit Israel in the next few hours.
“Every time they say Edan's name, it's like they haven't forgotten. They haven't forgotten that he is American, they're working hard,” Edan's mother, Yael Alexander, told the Associated Press in February.
His mother said Hamas posted a video of Alexander in November on Thanksgiving weekend, his favorite holiday. She said it was hard to watch the video when he cried and begged for help, but it was comforting to see the latest signs of him still alive.
Alexander, a native of Tenafly, New Jersey, where his parents and two young siblings still live, moved to Israel in 2022 and enlisted in the army after graduating from high school.
Within Gaza, fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, about one-third are still alive, and most of the rest are released under a ceasefire agreement or other transactions.
The bombing continues
According to local health officials, Israel went on strike overnight and attacked 15 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children on Sunday.
Nasser Hospital said two of the strikes attacked the tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other places, seven people were striken elsewhere, including a man and his children, according to the hospital and the Gaza Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military said it targets militants only and tries to avoid harming civilians. This blames Hamas on the deaths of civilians in the 19-month-old war as militants embedded in densely populated areas. Israel did not immediately comment on the latest strike.
Israel has locked Gaza for 10 weeks with all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelters, a pressure strategy designed to force Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offense in March, breaking a ceasefire and promoting the release of more than 30 hostages.
The United Nations and aid groups say food and other supplies are running low and hunger is widespread. The aid group said the humanitarian crisis was worse than at any time in the 19-month war.
Children carrying empty bottles raced in a disaster-stricken area in northern Gaza on Sunday. Residents of the building's Shati refugee camp said the water was brought by a charity elsewhere in Gaza. Without it, they rely on salty and often contaminated wells.
Children in Gaza show signs of acute malnutrition as Israel’s aid lockdown stretches into the third month. Israel said it plans to take over the aid allocation in the coming weeks and approved plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip for unspecified times.
“I was forced to drink salt water and I had no choice,” said Mahmoud Radwan. “This can cause intestinal disease and there is no medication to treat.”
Kogat, an Israeli military agency responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said enough aid was entered during the two-month ceasefire this year, and two of Israel's three main waterlines are still operating.
Trump's administration expressed full support for Israel's actions during his regional tour this week, and he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.
According to the Israeli Soles, the war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and hijacking 251 hostages.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli attack killed more than 52,800 Palestinians, mainly women and children. The offensive destroyed a vast area of the territory and displaced about 90% of the area's population about 2 million.
