Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a 1967 graduate of Cheltenham High School, thanked President Donald Trump for his assistance in securing the release of Edan Alexander, an Israeli American hostage, ABC News reported today.
Alexander, 21, a New Jersey native, had been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023. He was one of the 253 hostages taken during Hamas’ attack, in which roughly 1,200 people were also killed.
He is now on his way to Israel Defense Forces members in Gaza, ABC News said.
“The prime minister discussed the last-ditch effort to implement the outline for the release of the hostages presented by [U.S. Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff, before the escalation of the fighting,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “To this end, the prime minister instructed that a negotiating delegation be sent to Doha tomorrow.”
“He’s coming home to his parents, which is really great news,” Trump said.
“Wonderful news — Edan Alexander is coming home,” Representative Madeleine Dean of Glenside wrote in a post. “I met Edan’s parents last year in D.C., and I’m thinking of their family today, as they reunite and hopefully begin to heal. May God bless the remaining hostages — living and dead — and bring them all home immediately.”
Alexander’s release is being viewed as “a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration and a potential opening to jumpstart talks surrounding the broader conflict”, U.S. officials told ABC News. The Washington Post reported today that Netanyahu has been increasingly sidelined by Trump.
An excerpt:
Last week, Israelis believed they saw more cracks emerge between the “America First” president and Israel, after Trump said he had struck a truce with Yemen’s Houthi rebels that curbed the group’s attacks on U.S. ships — but did not cover Israel. Days later, reports emerged that Trump was considering offering Saudi Arabia access to civil nuclear technology without demanding that the kingdom normalize relations with Israel, a precondition that had been set by former president Joe Biden.
“What you’re seeing is that President Trump has an idea of what is in our interest, and that comes first,” said Dennis Ross, a former senior State Department official who served as a Middle East envoy under both Democratic and Republican presidents. “He defines the nature of our interests abroad not through a geopolitical or security context, but an economic, financial and trade frame. I think President Trump might have the view that ‘We give them $4 billion a year in military assistance. I do plenty to support the Israelis.’”
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Photos: Oded Balilty/AP, Times of Israel