Trump’s envoy confirms Hamas has agreed to release hostage

Hamas has agreed to release Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage held in Gaza, US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has confirmed.

Mr Witkoff said late on Sunday the release was a goodwill gesture towards Mr Trump after Hamas had said he would be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid.

Two Hamas officials told The Associated Press (AP) they expect the release in the next 48 hours.

The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel ended a ceasefire in March comes shortly before Mr Trump visits the Middle East this week.

“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Mr Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday evening.

“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”

Mr Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey. He was abducted from his base during the October 7 2023, Hamas-led attack, which ignited the war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the US informed it of Hamas’ intent to release Mr Alexander “without compensation or conditions” and that the step is expected to lead to negotiations on a truce.

Mr Netanyahu’s government was angered by US direct talks with Hamas earlier this year, which led to a Hamas offer to release Mr Alexander and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to a stalled ceasefire deal. Days later, Israel resumed the war.

Mr Witkoff said Hamas’ goal in releasing Mr Alexander was to restart talks on a ceasefire, the release of additional hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza before Israel carries out a threatened total takeover of the territory.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the US administration over the past few days.

He said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce, which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats.

Indirect talks between Hamas and the US began five days ago, an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas official told AP, with both describing the release of Mr Alexander as a gesture of goodwill.

The senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said Mr Alexander is expected to be released on Monday.

Hamas was advised to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one,” the official said.

Another Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations, said Mr Alexander’s release is expected in the next 48 hours, adding that it requires Israel to pause fighting for a couple of hours.

The Egyptian official involved in ceasefire negotiations, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamas received assurances from the Trump administration through Egyptian and Qatari mediators that Mr Alexander’s release “will put all files on the negotiating table”, including an end to the war.

Mr Alexander’s parents did not immediately return requests for comment.

Mr Trump and Mr Witkoff have frequently mentioned Mr Alexander, now 21, by name in the past few months.

Mr Witkoff was travelling to the region on Monday ahead of the expected release.

Fifty-nine hostages are still in Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

The Hostages Families Forum, the grassroots forum representing most hostage families, said Mr Alexander’s release “must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement” that will free everyone.

Mr Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour.

Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.

Two strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another seven people were killed in strikes elsewhere, including a man and his child in a Gaza City neighbourhood, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry.

In a separate development, Israel said it had retrieved the remains of a soldier killed in a 1982 battle in southern Lebanon after he had been classified as missing for more than four decades.

The Israeli military said Sgt 1st Class Tzvi Feldman’s remains were recovered from deep inside Syria, without providing further details.

Mr Netanyahu visited Feldman’s surviving siblings and told them that the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad late last year led to an “opportunity” that allowed the military and the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, to gather additional intelligence and locate and retrieve the body, according to video released by his office.

Mr Feldman went missing, along with five other Israeli soldiers, in a battle with Syrian forces in the Lebanese town of Sultan Yaaqoub.