Hamas will not release the last living American hostage it kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, 21-year-old Edan Alexander, unless Israel adheres to a ceasefire agreement.
The terrorist organization agreed on Friday to release Alexander along with the bodies of four dead hostages, and revealed its condition to honor the agreement Saturday.
A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that negotiations concerning the ceasefire’s second phase would have to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Hamas would also require Israel to halt its stoppage of humanitarian aid into the area and withdraw from a corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Phase 1 of the ceasefire ended on March 1.
A Hamas official told AP that it was an “exceptional deal” that could get the ceasefire going. The group is also requesting the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
The White House said that mediators told Hamas “in no uncertain terms” during the negotiations that the new U.S. proposal “would have to be implemented soon” and that Alexander “would have to be released immediately.”
The U.S. proposal, which has been accepted by Israel, focuses on releasing five living hostages and returning the bodies of nine dead hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire until after Ramadan and Passover.
Hamas has not accepted that proposal. The U.S. officials have ratcheted up the pressure on the terrorists, saying, “President Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price.”
Israel is still seeking the release of all 59 remaining hostages. Rallies are set to take place in Israel on Saturday, demanding the release of the remaining hostages.
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will gather his ministerial team on Saturday to discuss the next steps in the negotiating process and to receive a report from negotiators.
Alexander is a New Jersey native who enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces after graduating high school in the United States. He was taken captive during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel while he was patrolling the Gaza border.
