Foreign Affairs

Hamas Agrees To Free American Hostage Held For 525 Days

(Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour)

Hamas has promised to free a New Jersey man it captured during its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, the terrorist group said Friday.

Hamas said it will release 21-year-old Edan Alexander with the bodies of four deceased hostages as part of a series of prisoner exchanges with Israel, Fox News reported, citing a statement from the organization. Alexander, a dual citizen, is the last living American hostage Hamas took when it invaded Israel in October 2023 and ignited more than 15 months of war in the Middle East.

The Palestinian militants did not elaborate on when they would release Alexander, who has been in captivity for 525 days as of Friday. Negotiations in Qatar to settle the war are ongoing amid a temporary ceasefire.

Hamas said it “affirms its complete readiness to initiate negotiations” while “calling for [Israel] to fully implement its obligations,” according to Times of Israel. The four bodies Hamas agreed to hand over are of other dual citizens, though the group did not name them.

The announcement comes days after President Donald Trump gave the terrorists a “last warning” to release their living and dead hostages, saying on March 5 it would be “over for” them if they did not comply.

“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye – You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am… pic.twitter.com/88EjVAyWAe

— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) March 5, 2025

Hamas took more than 240 people in Israel hostage during the Oct. 7 massacre and more than 40 have died in captivity. Calls for a ceasefire grew more urgent in September when Israel determined the terrorists had gunned down an American and five other captives and left their bodies in a Gaza tunnel.

Hostage negotiations have been tense, with Israel accusing Hamas of failing to return a dead Israeli mother’s body and violating their agreements in February. Israel also revealed that Hamas beat her two small children to death when holding the family hostage. Palestinian militants paraded the children’s bodies in a macabre, celebratory ceremony while turning them over to Israel on Feb. 20.

The temporary ceasefire for the war officially expired on March 1, though fighting reportedly remains paused, Axios reported. The Trump administration proposed another agreement Wednesday that would extend it to April 20.