Hamas said on Friday that he had agreed to release Edan Alexander, an American Israeli soldier who has been detained in Gaza for 17 months, as well as the remains of four other hostages with double citizenship. Israel immediately put doubt about the viability of the proposal, which suggests that an agreement would probably not be imminent.
In a statement, Hamas said that he had officially declared his desire to release Mr. Alexander and the others in response to the last cease-fire proposal proposed by the mediators, without specifying which ones. But the Palestinian armed group did not say what it demanded in exchange for captives or when it transformed the five into Israel.
A high official of Hamas said that the group’s offer stipulated that Israel freed Palestinian prisoners, restored help to Gaza and undertake talks on the next ceasefire phase in exchange for Mr. Alexander-considered the last surviving captive with American citizenship-and the remains of four other Americans.
Hamas was willing to discuss the number and identities of the prisoners, said the manager, as long as Israel accepted the principle of supply for the five Americans. The manager spoke under the cover of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, argued that Hamas has embarked on “manipulations” and a “psychological war”. Israel had already accepted a separate American offer that would see many more hostages released in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Hamas’ gesture seemed to be at least partially a call to President Trump, whose administration has repeatedly called for the freedom of Mr. Alexander. Last week, Adam Boehler – Trump’s choice for hostage envoy – met Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, to negotiate the liberation of Mr. Alexander and the bodies of the other Americans.
The announcement of Hamas could pose Mr. Netanyahu with a dilemma: to reject an offer to bring the Americans who died in Gaza to the house – even for a high price – could upset the members of the Trump administration who clearly said they wanted Mr. Alexander and the bodies of others to be brought home.
The mediators hoped that Israel and Hamas would have now agreed on the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire which started in January. The second phase is supposed to see a complete end in the Israel campaign against Hamas, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of the remaining living hostages for the Palestinian prisoners.
But these talks have seen little progress given the rooted disputes between the two parties on the future of Gaza. Israel asked Hamas to be withdrawn from power, while Hamas seemed to hate to dissolve its battalions from armed fighters or send its leaders in exile. Mr. Netanyahu’s far -right allies also agitated for a return to the fight against Hamas, which means that the end of the war could destabilize the Prime Minister’s grip on power.
Direct Trump Administration meetings with Hamas have bypassed the Di dying-fed efforts and broke out with an American year’s American policy that aimed to isolate the group by refusing to speak directly. The talks caused ire in the Israeli government, which Mr. Boehler recognized in a series of television interviews this week.
Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, later described Mr. Boehler’s meetings as a “punctual” who had not yet produced results.
But the last Hamas offer was similar to what Mr. Boehler proposed last week in Doha, which included a plan to launch negotiations for the second phase and bringing the remaining hostages, said that an American official, who spoke under the cover of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly. This proposal followed days of talks that Mr. Boehler led in close coordination with Steve Witkoff, the Middle East Middle East, said the official.
Up to 24 living hostages and bodies of more than 30 other people are still in Gaza, according to the Israeli government. They include five Americans.
Hamas and other militant groups seized around 250 hostages during the attack on October 7, 2023 against southern Israel which sparked the war in Gaza. More than 100 returned alive in Israel after agreements with Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of dozens of others during the invasion of the Gaza soil.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas signed the multi-phase ceasefire, during which 30 hostages and the remains of eight others were exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners during the first six weeks of the truce. The release of others – like Mr. Alexander – was postponed until the two parties conclude talks on the nebulous “second phase”.
Mr. Alexander grew up in Tenafly, NJ, to parents born by Israel. After high school, he moved to Israel to enlist in the army; He was removed from the position where he was parked during the attack led by Hamas. Hamas has published a hostage video putting it last year.
The prospect that captives holding another nationality – like Mr. Alexander – could have priority have already caused a furious denunciation of relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Many have called for a single agreement that releases all the remaining captives at the same time.
“If Israel insists to stop in the middle and leaves her citizens behind him – let each Israeli mother know that she must obtain her son a foreign passport, otherwise he will be abandoned”, the hostage families forum, a defense group, a plea group, said in a declaration.
