GAZA: A Zionist-American captive crossed into the Zionist entity on Monday after his release by Hamas amid a pause in fighting in Gaza, the Zionist military said, but there was no deal on a wider truce or captive releases as monitors warned of famine in the devastated enclave. The Zionist military said it had received Edan Alexander after the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had facilitated his safe transfer from 19 months of captivity to Zionist authorities.
Alexander was the last American held by Hamas. Al Jazeera television showed a photograph of him standing next to masked fighters and a Red Cross official wearing civilian clothes. Fighting halted at midday in Gaza after Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Zionist entity would pause its operations to allow safe passage for the hostage release.
The pause offered a much-needed respite for residents of the war-battered territory. Somaya Abu Al-Kas, 34, who had been displaced to the southern city of Khan Yunis, said that “calm settled over Gaza, there was no shelling, and no nearby aircraft, which is very rare”. “We are tired of the shelling, and any ceasefire, even if temporary, we consider it an opportunity to breathe and gather ourselves.” But Um Mohammed Zomlot, 50, also displaced in Khan Yunis, said that “despite the calm, we are cautious”. “Everyone is afraid that the shelling might resume suddenly after the prisoner is released.”
Flag-waving crowds gathered to greet the convoy carrying Alexander while in Tenafly, the New Jersey town he grew up in, large crowds sang and
danced while watching events on an outdoor big screen. Hamas said it was freeing Alexander as a goodwill gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region this week. “Edan Alexander, American hostage thought dead, to be released by Hamas. Great news!” Trump wrote in capital letters on his social media platform earlier in the day. Netanyahu said Alexander’s release came thanks to the Zionist military pressure in Gaza and political pressure by Trump.
Netanyahu has said there will be no ceasefire and that plans to intensify military action in Gaza continue. Witnesses in Gaza Strip told Reuters the movement of aviation over Gaza by Zionist warplanes and drones had resumed after Alexander’s handover. The release, after four-way talks between Hamas, the United States, Egypt and Qatar, could open the way to freeing the remaining 58 captives held in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar and Egypt said Alexander’s release was an encouraging step towards new truce talks. The Zionist entity will send a delegation to Qatar on Thursday to discuss a new proposal aimed at securing further hostage releases, Netanyahu’s office said. Gaza health authorities said a Zionist strike killed at least 15 people sheltering at a school on Monday before fighting paused.
The global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported on Monday that half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation and there is a critical risk of famine by September. Trump is due to visit Gulf states on a trip that does not include a stop in the Zionist entity.
US officials have tried to calm fears in the Zionist entity of a growing distance between the Zionist entity and Trump, who last week announced an end to US bombing of Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have continued to fire missiles at the Zionist entity. The Zionist government has drawn criticism over the deal to release Alexander, which laid bare the priority given to hostages able to rely on the support of a foreign government.