Militants of the Hamas group (recognised as a terrorist group in the USA and the European Union) in the Gaza Strip handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross an Israeli hostage with US citizenship, Idan Alexander.
The hostage, captured on 7 October 2023, spent 584 days in Gaza.
At the request of the American side involved in the negotiation process, the handover took place in a closed format without live broadcast.
The Hamas group confirmed the handover of Alexander to the Israeli side.
The statement noted that the transfer took place through the mediation of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Hamas says it has shown “high flexibility” and is ready to immediately negotiate a comprehensive agreement that includes “a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure.”
On 11 May, Hamas released a new video of hostages taken in the 7 October 2023 attack. The video ends with credits stating that only a ceasefire agreement will save their lives. It is not known when or under what circumstances the video was recorded.
Next week, US President Donald Trump will begin his visit to the Middle East. Trump will visit the Gulf states, but will not fly to Israel. Israeli publication Maariv wrote the other day that the White House does not want to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza before Trump’s arrival. According to one of the interlocutors, the US will not interfere with the fighting, but will not support it.
Mediators continue to push for at least an agreement on a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages.