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Freed Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander Leaves Gaza
People hold a picture and a sign with a picture of the Israeli-American hostage, Edan Alexander, who was kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
An Israeli-American hostage crossed into Israel on Monday after his release by Hamas as fighting paused in Gaza, the Israeli military said, but there was no deal on a wider truce or hostage release.
Israel‘s military said it had received Alexander after the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had facilitated his safe transfer from 19 months of captivity to Israeli authorities.
Alexander was the last American held by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel‘s Channel 12 said his condition was “low” without citing a source.
Al Jazeera television showed a photograph of him standing next to masked fighters and a Red Cross official. Unlike in previous hostage releases, he was wearing civilian clothes.
As Israel prepared for the release of Alexander, hundreds gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where they waited anxiously for sight of the Israel-American dual national. Many of Alexander’s friends were present, as they stood, arms interlinked, with posters of the now-21-year-old in the air. As the first images of Red Cross vehicles receiving Alexander were broadcast in the public square many began to weep.
Supporters also gathered in Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, to watch his release from captivity.
People watch a screen on the day Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, is released from captivity by Hamas in Gaza, in Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Fighting halted at midday in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pause its operations to allow safe passage for the hostage release.
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 his country’s military pressure in Gaza and political pressure exerted by Trump.
The Israeli leader said he spoke with Trump on Monday where the US president expressed commitment to Israel, according to a statement by Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu has said there will be no ceasefire and that plans to intensify military action in Gaza continue.
The release, after four-way talks between Hamas, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, could open the way to freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, 19 months after Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Qatar and Egypt said Alexander’s release was an encouraging step towards new truce talks. Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on Thursday to discuss a new proposal aimed at securing further hostage releases, Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu has insisted that Israel‘s planning for an expanded military campaign in Gaza will continue.
“Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that military pressure had forced Hamas into the release.
Trump is due to visit Gulf states on a trip that does not include a stop in Israel but special envoy Steve Witkoff, who helped arrange the release, was expected in Israel on Monday, two Israeli officials said.
Alexander’s family thanked Trump and Witkoff, saying in a statement that they hoped the decision would open the way for the release of the other remaining hostages.
“We urge the Israeli government and the negotiating teams: please don’t stop,” they said.
US officials have tried to calm fears in Israel of a growing distance between Israel and Trump, who last week announced an end to US bombing of Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have continued to fire missiles at Israel.
Israel‘s 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.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among 21 hostages still believed to be alive, said Netanyahu was choosing his political survival over ending the war.
Addressing Trump in a statement she read with other hostage families, she said: “The Israeli people are behind you. End this war. Bring them all home.”
Netanyahu, who was due to testify in the latest session of his trial on corruption charges that he denies, has faced pressure from hardliners in his cabinet not to end the war.
Following a ceasefire agreement that halted fighting in Gaza for two months and allowed the exchange of 38 hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails, Israel resumed its military campaign in the enclave in March.
Since then, it has extended its control of the territory, clearing around a third of what it has described as a “security zone” and blocked off the entry of aid into Gaza, leaving the 2 million population increasingly short of food.
Experts and Israeli officials have long said that Hamas steals much of the aid to fuel its terrorist operations and sells some of the remainder to Gaza’s civilian population at an increased price. Jerusalem has also said that aid distribution cannot be left to international organizations, which it accuses of allowing Hamas to seize supplies intended for the civilian population.
Last week, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee outlined plans for a new system of aid deliveries by private contractors, but many details are unclear, including on funding.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday that humanitarian aid in Gaza needed to resume immediately. Herzog said the new aid mechanism would reach civilians, not Hamas, and urged the international community to help implement it.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their assault on Israel in October 2023. Israe responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas, which has ruled neighboring Gaza since 2007.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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