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Hamas announces Edan Alexander's merchandise
Hamas said it had released Edan Alexander, believed to beryllium the past surviving U.S. national held hostage successful Gaza, Monday arsenic President Trump departed Washington for a travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Hamas, a U.S. and Israeli-designated violent group, said Sunday evening that it would merchandise Alexander without conditions successful the anticipation of moving toward a lasting ceasefire successful Gaza and renewing the travel of captious humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian territory.
Alexander, who is present 21, grew up successful New Jersey earlier moving to Israel, wherever helium was serving successful the Israeli subject connected Oct. 7, 2023 erstwhile helium was abducted during the Hamas-orchestrated onslaught that sparked the war successful Gaza.
In February, CBS News spoke to Alexander's mother, Yael, who said she was doing each she could to combat for her son's merchandise and support going for her different children.
"It's not easy, but you cognize what, I'm taking spot from my kids to beryllium good and to aftermath up each greeting and to enactment apparel on… to grin for them, to hug them, to archer them however overmuch I emotion them and to springiness them besides a batch of anticipation that Edan is okay."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the quality of Alexander's merchandise and said they'd beryllium organizing a march astatine the U.S. embassy successful Israel connected Monday to request "a breakthrough and broad agreement" to bring the remaining hostages home.
President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed to CBS News that he'd beryllium traveling to the portion up of Alexander's release, and section media said helium had arrived earlier connected Monday.
Hamas said Sunday the determination to merchandise Alexander came aft "contacts with the U.S. medication implicit the past fewer days," and that the radical was acceptable to "immediately statesman intensive negotiations to exert superior efforts to scope a last statement to extremity the war, found a mutually agreed-upon captive exchange, and person the Gaza Strip administered by an autarkic nonrecreational body. This would guarantee semipermanent calm and stability, on with reconstruction and the lifting of the blockade."
In a station connected his ain Truth Social platform, President Trump called the determination "a measurement taken successful bully religion towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators - Qatar and Egypt - to enactment an extremity to this precise brutal warfare and instrumentality ALL surviving hostages and remains to their loved ones. Hopefully this is the archetypal of those last steps indispensable to extremity this brutal conflict."
The bureau of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a connection saying "Israel did not perpetrate to immoderate ceasefire oregon to the merchandise of terrorists, but lone to a harmless corridor that would let for Idan's release." Israel's authorities uses that spelling of Alexander's archetypal name.
"We are successful captious days erstwhile Hamas is faced with a woody that volition let for the merchandise of our hostages," the premier minister's bureau said. "Negotiations volition proceed nether occurrence and portion preparations are being made to intensify the fighting."
Israel has been preventing the introduction of nutrient and aesculapian assistance into Gaza for astir 3 months, with assistance groups saying malnutrition is rising crossed the enclave. Food information experts said successful a study published Monday that the colonisation of Gaza was facing a captious hazard of famine.
"The full colonisation is facing precocious levels of acute nutrient insecurity, with fractional a cardinal radical (one successful five) facing starvation" the radical Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said successful a report. "With the announced enlargement of subject operations passim the Gaza Strip, the persistent inability of humanitarian agencies to entree populations successful dire need, an anticipated escalation successful hostilities, and the continued wide displacement of people, the hazard of Famine successful the Gaza Strip is not conscionable imaginable - It is progressively likely."
Also connected Monday, Israeli strikes were reported connected a school-turned-shelter successful the country of Jabaliya successful Gaza, sidesplitting 16 radical - chiefly women and children - according to the Hamas-run ministry of wellness there.
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital planetary reporter, based successful the CBS News London bureau.
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