President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host a meeting at the White House on Thursday with Edan Alexander, the last known American hostage in Gaza who was released in May.
“The President and First Lady have met with many released hostages from Gaza, and they greatly look forward to meeting Edan Alexander and his family in the Oval Office tomorrow,” stated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Alexander, now 21, is an American-Israeli from New Jersey. He was just 19 when militants stormed his military base in Israel and took him into Gaza. After finishing high school, he moved to Israel in 2022 and enlisted in the military.
He was released on May 12 by Hamas after being held captive for 584 days. Following his release, Alexander remained in Israel until last month, when he traveled back to New Jersey to be reunited with his family.
He was among 251 hostages captured by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
In early March, Trump met at the White House with eight other former hostages who had been released by Hamas, including Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, and Noa Argamani.
Thursday’s meeting occurs just before a planned visit to the White House on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump is urging both Israel and Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage deal to end the war in Gaza.
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