On Friday, President Trump announced that he had met with Edan Alexander, a dual American and Israeli national who had been held captive in Gaza for almost 600 days, in the Oval Office.
Released in May, Mr. Alexander was accompanied by his Tenafly, New Jersey, father, Yael Alexander, and mother, Adi Alexander. According to Israeli news outlets, Mr. Trump welcomed him to the White House on Thursday.
On his Truth Social website, Mr. Trump shared a video of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcoming 21-year-old Mr. Alexander in the Oval Office.
In a video that one of Mr. Trump’s aides posted on X, the president, standing next to Melania Trump, the first lady, informs Mr. Alexander and his parents that the first lady greatly valued Mr. Alexander’s safe return home and that his citizenship as an American citizen had a significant influence.
The 21-year-old Mr. Alexander was kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the Gaza War. He had been in the Israeli military’s infantry when he was captured by Hamas from a military base close to the Gaza border.
Following his release in May, Mr. Alexander’s family grieved as they held him. In order to bring him home, his parents traveled from the United States to Israel with Trump administration officials, and they had fought tirelessly for his liberation.
In May, upon his son’s release, Edan’s father, Adi Alexander, told The New York Times, “We never lost hope.” There was no other way for me to think.
Growing up in Tenafly, Mr. Alexander excelled as a swimmer in high school. His father claimed that while he was in captivity, he was shackled, beaten, and questioned, and he heard Israeli bombs rattling the tunnels where he was being held. With little access to food, he became malnourished.
In May, his father claimed that he had bedbug bites all over his body. The state of his skin is awful.
Despite the effects of the past year and a half in captivity, Mr. Alexander is making a full recovery, according to his father.
Edan’s father claimed that when he enlisted in the army, he was a silly, humorous man. He remains humorous. He’s not a different person, in my opinion. He’s just worn out.
Following the president’s announcement on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to terms to finish a 60-day cease-fire with Hamas, Mr. Trump met with Mr. Alexander. Next week, he will travel to the United States to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
