Last Living U.S. Hostage Edan Alexander Freed After 19 Months in Captivity: Reports

U.S. hostage Edan Alexander has been freed after months in captivity, according to multiple reports.

He was released into the custody of the Red Cross on May 12, 2025, according to NPR, which attributed the news to both a "statement by Hamas" and also "an Israeli official" who spoke anonymously. The release was also confirmed by news outlets ranging from Fox News to The Jerusalem Post.

Alexander, 21, is an Israeli soldier "raised in New Jersey," who was "the last remaining U.S. citizen captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and held in Gaza, "who was believed to be still alive, NPR reported.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that Alexander had been freed and said he would be transferred to the Red Cross and then taken to a hospital. The Jerusalem Post reported that Alexander was in the hands of Red Cross officials, who reported that he was doing "okay."

Alexander's mother was headed to see him, The Post reported.

According to Fox News, which also reported that Alexander had been released, he spent more than 580 days as a hostage.

He is a dual citizen of the United States and of Israel, according to Fox News.

Fox News reported that he was out of the hands of Hamas and "back in safety in the West." Reporters watched the transfer happen but had not physically seen Alexander yet, according to Fox News, which reported that he was transferred over to a set of Red Cross vehicles.

The next stage would be Alexander's movement to an Israeli military vehicle, where he would be brought to a base.

"We have not seen him yet. We have heard he is in good condition," Fox News' reporter said in a live broadcast, saying that Hamas did not want to make a big show of it.

"But we do have the word that he is gone out of Hamas captivity," Fox News reported.

Alexander left the U.S. when he was 18, and he was on the Gaza border as a soldier when he was abducted. His release was "brokered" as a result of direct talks and intermediaries between the U.S. and Hamas, according to Fox News.

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