Hamas announced on Sunday evening its intention to release abducted Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, of dual Israeli-American citizen, in a gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is expected to arrive in the region on Tuesday.
Alexander, 20, is a lone soldier from New Jersey who was abducted from the Kissufim outpost after volunteering to stay on base over Shabbat. In late November 2024, his family received a sign of life when the terrorist organization Hamas published a video of him. In the video, Alexander addressed his family: "Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, every day that passes the pain inside grows. I miss you all terribly, every day. I pray to see you again soon. Please stay strong. It's only a matter of time before this nightmare ends."
The captive soldier also appealed to US President Donald Trump and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding: "People of Israel, do not abandon us. We want to come home with our sanity intact. The fear and the isolation are killing us. Please don't forget us. It's not fair that we are paying the price for a mistake our government made. Please, citizens of Israel, protest every day, put pressure on the government."
In a chilling coincidence, on Saturday, October 7, the day of the massacre, Alexander's mother Yael was visiting Israel. During a phone call with her son that morning, she told him: "Edan, I'm with you. Take care of yourself. I'm with you. I love you." That was the last time they spoke.
After the video was published, his mother Yael said, "I haven't been able to breathe for 500 days. For 500 days, he has been in the dark, in a tunnel underground, without sunlight, without a mother's embrace, without knowing when it will end. 500 days of fear, hunger, and unfathomable uncertainty. I'm Yael, and I will only truly start breathing again when everyone comes back, the living to recovery, the fallen to burial."
Edan's grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, has also been highly active in the campaign to free the hostages. She took part in a protest outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, demanding that her grandson be included in the next phase of any release deal. Speaking at the demonstration, she said: "Edani, my dear beloved grandson, it's almost here... There is light at the end of the tunnel... You will walk toward it and come home. We'll meet, we'll hug, and we'll never let go. You were born to be free."
