American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander released by Hamas

Hamas has released Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier who holds American citizenship, as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire with Israel.

The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza. In a statement, Hamas said: "The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades released the captured Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, a US citizen, a short while ago, following contacts with the US administration.

This comes as part of the efforts being made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach our people in the Gaza Strip. "This step comes after important contacts in which Hamas demonstrated positivity and high flexibility.

"We affirm that serious and responsible negotiations achieve results in the release of prisoners. However, continuing the aggression prolongs their suffering and may kill them.

"We affirm the movement's readiness to immediately begin negotiations to reach a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of the occupation army, the end of the siege, a prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. "We urge the Trump administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal war waged by the war criminal Netanyahu against children, women, and defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip." Mr Alexander was transferred to Israel Defence Forces (IDF) via the Red Cross.

An IDF statement said: "A short while ago, accompanied by IDF forces, the returning hostage, IDF soldier Edan Alexander, crossed the border into Israeli territory. He will be checked by doctors and reunited with his family in southern Israel, it added.

"The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostage as he makes his way home to the State of Israel."The IDF Spokesperson's Unit asks everyone to respect the privacy of the returning hostage and his family." Mr Alexander's parents, who live in the US, made the journey to Israel ahead of the release. The family said they were deeply grateful to US President Donald Trump and his administration for its work to secure the release - and have urged the Israeli government to continue efforts to free all hostages.

Before leaving Washington for a whirlwind visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Mr Trump told reporters the US national was "coming home to his parents, which is really great news". Mr Alexander, who is from New Jersey, was 19 when he was taken from his base on the border with Gaza in southern Israel during the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, when 1,200 people were killed.

Read more on Sky News:A week that could define TrumpZelenskyy offers to meet PutinUK-based Bulgarian spies jailed The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement: "After 584 agonising days in captivity, Edan has returned home - to his family who worked tirelessly for his release, to his friends, and to an entire nation that fought and prayed for his return." The group called his release "a ray of light and hope, but also a stark reminder that 58 men and women remain captive in Gaza". "We must not leave a single hostage behind.

Without bringing everyone home, there can be no true victory, no healing, and no rebuilding as a nation. "The return of all hostages is our generation's most urgent and critical mission.

We will bring them back. We will rise again.​" Last week Israel said 24 hostages were alive in Gaza, after around 250 were taken in the 2023 Hamas attack.

Most of the hostages returned alive to Israel so far have been released as part of deals with Hamas during two temporary ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025. Before Mr Alexander's release, around 59 hostages were thought to be still inside Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive.

Israel announced earlier this month it intends to occupy the entire Gaza enclave, threatening years of more war. Israel's war on Gaza, launched in retaliation for the 7 October attack, has killed more than 52,000 people and wounded more than 119,000, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry..