Hamas to Release American Hostage After Direct Talks with Washington

12th May 2025

5 minutes read

Hamas to Release American Hostage After Direct Talks with Washington

Netanyahu Confirms the Army Will Not Cease Fire and Will Not Release Palestinian Prisoners in Exchange for the Release of Hostage Idan Alexander.

On Sunday evening, Hamas announced that it would release the Israeli-American hostage, Idan Alexander, on an unspecified date. This follows the announcement from Hamas officials that they had engaged in direct talks with the United States in Doha regarding a ceasefire and the delivery of aid to Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli army would not cease fire and would not release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostage.

Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said in a statement that “Israeli soldier with dual American nationality, Idan Alexander, will be released as part of efforts for a ceasefire, opening crossings, and delivering aid and assistance to our people in Gaza.” The Alexander family also issued a statement saying they had been informed of his release “in the coming days.”

U.S. President Donald Trump praised the Hamas announcement on Sunday, expressing hope for the release of all hostages and an end to the fighting. He wrote in a social media post: “I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this historic news,” calling the release of the hostage “a gesture of goodwill” and adding, “We hope that this will be the first step towards ending this brutal conflict.”

This came after two Hamas leaders announced that officials from the movement had held direct talks with the U.S. in Doha and that there had been “some progress” on delivering aid to Gaza and negotiating a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza, with the Civil Defense reporting on Sunday that 12 people, including children, were killed, most of them in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

A member of Hamas’ political bureau, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said, “Direct talks have been taking place for several days between Hamas leadership and the United States in Doha regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, prisoner exchanges, and aid deliveries, and some progress has been made,” adding that “the coming hours will be critical.”

Another Hamas official said the talks with the U.S. aim to reach an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza. While Egypt and Qatar welcomed Hamas’ announcement, calling it a “gesture of goodwill and an encouraging step,” Israel announced it would continue fighting.

In a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said, “In accordance with Israeli policy, negotiations will take place under fire, with the commitment to achieve all the war’s objectives.”

Since Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza, Hamas and other factions have held 58 Israelis in Gaza, including 34 hostages whom the Israeli army believes are dead.

Israel resumed its airstrikes and military operations on March 18, ending a fragile two-month truce.

Israel has banned the entry of aid into Gaza, justifying this by pressuring Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel have taken place several times, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S.

For decades, Washington refused to engage openly with Hamas, labeling it a terrorist organization, but broke this rule for the first time in March.

Hamas insists on a deal to end the war. On April 18, it rejected an Israeli proposal for a 45-day ceasefire with an exchange of prisoners and hostages.

In its Sunday statement, al-Hayya confirmed “Hamas’ readiness to immediately begin intensive negotiations and make serious efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war and exchange prisoners.”

Earlier this month, the Israeli government agreed to expand its operations in Gaza, with officials mentioning Israel’s long-term presence in the region. Despite negotiations, the war continues in the devastated Gaza Strip.

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bessal said Israeli warplanes targeted three tents sheltering dozens of displaced people, resulting in “eight martyrs, including four children aged between two and five years, and two women.”

Footage showed paramedics transferring bodies in the dark in an ambulance, one in a white plastic bag and another in a blanket, along with an injured child.

Bessal also reported that an Israeli airstrike on a “civilian car” west of Khan Younis killed three people on Sunday afternoon, and another Israeli airstrike on a “group of civilians” in Gaza City (in the north) killed one person and injured three others.

The Israeli army has not commented on these strikes but said it had “attacked more than 50 terrorist targets in the past 24 hours.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reaffirmed Sunday Israel’s full support for the U.S. plan to distribute aid in Gaza.

Israel insists there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, despite warnings from humanitarian organizations and the United Nations, arguing that Hamas diverts aid entering Gaza.

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced the creation of a new institution responsible for distributing humanitarian aid to Gaza, supported by the Israeli military and a special security service.

This U.S. initiative has been criticized internationally, as it appears to sideline the role of the U.N. and humanitarian organizations, and is expected to lead to significant changes in the existing humanitarian structures in Gaza.

Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas-led Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced Sunday that at least 2,720 people had been killed since the resumption of Israeli military operations in March, bringing the total death toll since the war began to 52,829 Palestinians, with 119,554 others injured.