Hamas releases Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander

GAZA -- The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press statement that it released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander from southern Gaza on Monday.

According to Hamas sources, Alexander was handed over to a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross at a designated location in the city of Khan Younis. He was then transferred to the buffer zone controlled by the Israeli army before being moved to the Ra'im military base in southern Israel.

The sources said the handover was carried out quietly and without the presence of armed groups, in contrast to previous operations.

Eyewitnesses in Khan Younis reported that Israeli military activities in the area were halted before and during the release, and the atmosphere remained relatively calm.

Alexander is a US-born soldier serving in the Israeli army, who was abducted on Oct 7, 2023, in a Hamas-led raid on southern Israel that resulted in the kidnapping of 251 people and the killing of about 1,200 others.

In the press statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades said the release of Alexander followed "contacts with the US administration, as part of the efforts being made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach Gaza people in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas has shown "positivity and high flexibility" during recent contacts, the statement said, noting that "serious and responsible negotiations achieve results in the release of prisoners ... but continuing the (Israeli) aggression prolongs their suffering and may kill them."

Hamas is ready "to immediately begin negotiations to reach a comprehensive, sustainable ceasefire agreement, the withdrawal of the occupation army, the end of the siege, a prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," the statement said.

Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, which have so far killed 2,749 Palestinians.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said an Israeli delegation will travel to Qatar's Doha on Tuesday for talks on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, although the talks will take place "only under fire."