The first phase of Israel’s cease-fire deal with Hamas has ended. Thirty-three hostages, 25 living and eight deceased, were exchanged for 1,900 Palestinian security prisoners (including murderers and terrorists). Hamas also released five Thai men taken hostage on October 7. Among the dead were Shiri Bibas and her two little boys, the three of them murdered in captivity; mother and children were buried Wednesday in a single casket. Among the living were two U.S.-Israeli citizens, Keith Siegel, 65, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.

Edan Alexander, now 21, is the last living American hostage in Gaza. Seen in a hostage video several months ago, he is one of two dozen Israeli hostages known or believed to be alive. From the released hostages, we have learned of the suffering inflicted on them by Hamas terrorists: stories of starvation, of being kept underground in darkness, of being shackled, beaten, and taunted. We saw Siegel and other men emerge gaunt and weak.

Edan is from Tenafly, N.J. After graduating from high school there, he went to volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces. He was serving on a base near the Gaza border when he was taken by Hamas.

Edan’s mother, Yael, who was visiting Israel on October 7, recalls how she cried in the days after learning that her son was among the hostages. “I had never cried like that. Maybe I’ll cry like that when I see Edan.”

The fate of the remaining hostages in Gaza is as yet unknown. Whether there will be a second phase of the deal in which more hostages will be freed — no one can yet say. Among the dead still held in Gaza are the bodies of four other U.S.-Israeli citizens.

“People need to keep this issue front and center,” says Edan’s father, Adi. “There is still the last living American in Gaza.”