TEL AVIV, Israel (news agencies) — For two days after Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was released from 19 months of captivity in Gaza, he couldn’t eat anything. Despite periods of near starvation while being held by Hamas militants, Alexander just didn’t have an appetite.
Then, his mother, Yael Alexander, put a burger and fries in front of him, and her son dove in.
It was one of many joyful moments his family has experienced since learning he would be freed.
Hamas portrayed the release of Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, as a gesture to President Donald Trump ahead of his Mideast tour last week, which the militants hoped would revive ceasefire talks. Instead, Israel launched a renewed offensive days later that families of the remaining hostages fear could put their loved ones in grave danger.
Alexander’s father was somewhat heartened by Israel’s announcement Monday that some aid was going into Gaza for the first time in 2 1/2 months.
“That’s the first step forward, so hopefully we’ll see another ceasefire, more releases and the end to this conflict,” Adi Alexander said. “It’s been too long, too much, and you can’t treat agony with more agony. It’s enough.”
He urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to “rise above politics to prioritize human life.”
The family had just finished celebrating Mother’s Day at their home in New Jersey when Adi Alexander saw eight missed calls from Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy. Witkoff told them to turn on the TV because Hamas was about to announce their son would be released.
“We were freaking out,” he said. The family raced to book flights to Israel. Alexander’s mother traveled with Trump’s hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler. His father and the couple’s other two children arrived just minutes before Edan Alexander crossed into Israel from Gaza.
Alexander was one of 251 people kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages alive and recovered more than 40 bodies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The campaign has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population.
The lowest point of his 584 days of captivity, Alexander told his parents, was being dragged into Gaza and pushed into a tunnel. For hours, he was held alone underground until 10 other hostages were thrust in with him.
That came as a relief. His father said his son’s biggest fear was being kidnapped alone, like an Israeli soldier captured in Gaza in 2006, who was held for years until he was released in a 2011 exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Edan Alexander told his parents he was kept mostly underground and moved frequently between tunnels with other hostages. There was very little food, and he rarely saw sunlight or was able to breathe fresh air. In the beginning, like many other male hostages, he was kept handcuffed, sometimes with a sack over his head, and interrogated.
The 6-foot-tall (180 cm) Alexander dropped to around 130 pounds (60 kilograms) from around 175 pounds (80 kilograms) before he was kidnapped.
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