He was the last living American hostage held in Gaza and the first male soldier to be released since the October 7 attack. By releasing Edan Alexander, 21, who also holds Israeli citizenship, without any conditions, on Monday, May 12, Hamas sent a strong signal.

Born in New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel to enlist in the Golani Brigade. Deployed near the Gaza Strip in early October 2023, the unit bore the brunt of the first wave of the attack launched by Hamas: 70 soldiers were killed, and others were wounded and kidnapped, including Alexander. Doron Zexer, his "adoptive father" within his Israeli foster family, participated in all the hostage release demonstrations, despite being confined to a wheelchair: "It's difficult to imagine that our people are just next door but unreachable. They must be freed. Because it's the entire country that Hamas is holding hostage," he told Le Monde in April 2024.

Donald Trump said on Monday during a press conference at the White House that there are still 58 people in the hands of the Palestinian Islamist movement, of which 20 are still alive, confirming the statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu a week earlier. The Israeli prime minister acknowledged that three hostages had been killed in recent weeks after Israel renewed hostilities on March 18.

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