Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Hamas Movement, which rules the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, announced late on May 11 that it intends to release Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander, who holds American citizenship.
In a statement, the group said that the decision to release Alexander comes after recent talks with United States officials and “intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas also expressed its readiness to enter intensified negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement to end the war, establish a mutually “agreed prisoner exchange, and enable Gaza to be administered by an independent professional authority.”
Alexander is one of 24 hostages who are believed to still be alive in Gaza. Hamas is reportedly holding the bodies of 35 other hostages.
Earlier, The Times of Israel reported, citing an Arab official familiar with the talks, that Hamas was being pushed by mediators to release Alexander unconditionally as a show of goodwill to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is heading to the region this week.
Mediators told Hamas that releasing Alexander would go a long way with the Trump administration, which would “put all issues on the table,” as far as Washington is concerned, including pushing Israel to agree to end the war in Gaza.
Separately, a senior Palestinian official told Reuters that talks between Hamas and the Trump administration regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged Strip were underway.
A report from Israel’s Channel 12 also said that the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff recently told families of Gaza hostages that he disagrees with Israel’s approach to the war in Gaza, and believes reaching a new ceasefire and hostage release deal is the correct next step to take.
According to the report, Witkoff told the families that the U.S. “wants to return the hostages, but Israel is not ready to end the war.”
“Israel is prolonging the war, even though we do not see where further progress can be made,” said Witkoff, the report added, citing sources who attended the meeting.
“Still, there is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of. We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything to return the hostages,” he also said.
The Israeli war has so far claimed the lives of more than 52,000 Palestinians. Israeli troops renewed their offensive in the Strip in mid-March, shattering a ceasefire-hostage deal brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar last January.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly refused to end the war, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
In fact, the IDF called up tens of thousands of reservists earlier in the month in preparation for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” a final offensive meant to occupy all of Gaza and completely defeat Hamas.
The U.S. direct engagement with Hamas indicates that the Trump administration is not pleased by the Israeli escalation. Recent Arab reports even suggested that Trump could go as far as recognizing a Palestinian state during his upcoming visit.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
well, this proves the only ones on the side of these poor wretches in the gaza strip are the ansar allah houthis.
this kiddie killing yankee ape is being ‘negotiated’ over and no matter what the outcome, the extermination of the semites in gaza will continue.
it doesn’t matter what the palestinians do to please their slave masters who control the open air prisons they live under: they’re owners do not consider them human and are going to exterminate them. the correction of this evil behavior will come from the god of the bible.
do they expect a goodwill gesture in return? if so then it shows that they are not paying attention.
1 out of 24 hostages when we never really found out what happened to the original hostages bidens crew of puppets took on october 7th.
big dicks up my ass!
oh! big shit will hit the fan in ocupied palestine, aka israel entity.
i don’t know why the israelis are now putting so much effort into those few captured soldiers, considering that they are so diligently mobilizing their new soldiers in the favelas of rio de janeiro and new delhi? what is wrong with the favela residents that the idf is now mobilizing? what is missing from the illiterate poor from the favelas that the idf mobilized in brazil?
so if the hamas gives up all hostages the only reason why isreali citizens are against more attacks is gone.
when i was 9 my uncle jeb held me hostage for 2 years rented me to gay hillbillies–now i am bitter senile obese hermaphodite
hang him instead. the muslims will execute their own down fall, if they not kill the nazis at every opportunity.
and hang the murderer trump. simply hang all those christian murder apes, that torture humanity.
mankind’s unlucky tribe, the jokers of humanity, vandals of civilization, they do not build civilized societies. what they do is embroil themselves in petty emotional dramas and blood feuds lasting thousands of years. just look at ukraine and israel, captured by degenerate jews. they are insane societies that do insane things. they really love living a life of drama