Freed by Hamas, Israeli-American Hostage Heads Next to Qatar for Meeting With Trump, Emir

Following Monday’s emotional release by Hamas of an American-born Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, the freed man and his family on Wednesday or Thursday will be flown to Doha, where President Trump and Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani will celebrate the deal that led to his release.Shortly after 7 p.m. Israel time, Mr. Alexander, who has spent 19 months in Hamas captivity, was delivered to Israeli hands. After an emotional meeting with his family members, he was flown to an Israeli hospital where his health will be evaluated.The parents of the 21-year-old New Jersey-born Mr. Alexander have long lobbied at Washington for his release. On Monday afternoon they were flown by helicopter to the Gaza border for the meeting with their son. Also at hand were Mr. Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steven Witkoff, as well as a hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler.At a Washington press conference before departing for the Middle East, Mr. Trump vowed to work for the release of the 58 remaining hostages, at least 20 of whom are alive. The freed hostage’s planned trip to Doha depends on his health condition. It “has to do with Trump’s well-deserved recognition for his role in releasing Alexander. On the other hand, Qatar is to be blamed for everything that has happened here,” the founder of Middle East Media Research, Yigal Carmon, tells the Sun.“Qatar, which funds Hamas as well as many other Islamist terrorist organizations, is responsible for horrible attacks on American targets, seeks exoneration of years of supporting terrorism,” Mr. Carmon says, adding that Prime Minister Netanyahu “is also responsible, along with Qatar, for building up Hamas’s military power.”Mr. Alexander is the first male soldier released by Hamas, which in the past has insisted that it would release military men only at the end of a deal. Israelis rejoiced over the release of a hostage, but were also dismayed that dual citizens receive preferential treatment over those who only have Israeli passports. The deal to release Mr. Alexander was facilitated by an unidentified American citizen who negotiated directly with Hamas officials at Doha, and relayed messages to Mr. Witkoff, the Times of Israel reports. Mr. Netanayhu learned of the agreement during a Sunday night cabinet meeting, when a note regarding the deal was passed to him. Prior to the Monday release, Mr. Netanyahu met Mr. Witkoff and spoke on the phone with Mr. Trump. Subsequently, he announced Israel will send a high-level delegation to Doha to negotiate further hostage releases, while vowing that the Israel Defense Force will maintain the military pressure. “Negotiations would only take place under fire,” his office wrote on X. “We hope that we’re going to have other hostages released,” Mr. Trump told reporters Monday, shortly before Hamas released Mr. Alexander. Among the 58 remaining hostages, at least 20 are believed alive. Yet, in past meetings with families of hostages, Mr. Trump realized that “they want the dead bodies as much as they want the live bodies,” he said. Israel renewed the fighting in Gaza last month after Hamas rejected a proposal to release up to 11 living hostages in return for a two-month cease-fire in Gaza. That proposal, known as the “Witkoff plan,” seems to be back on now. The sticking point has been Hamas’s insistence on a verifiable end of all Israeli operations in the Strip. Jerusalem has insisted that the war will end only after Hamas is decimated.

Freed by Hamas, Israeli-American Hostage Heads Next to Qatar for Meeting With Trump, Emir

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