Gaza, American hostage Edan Alexander is in Israel

The two will fly by helicopter to a military base in Reim, on the Gaza border, where the IDF will take Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli citizen, once delivered by Hamas via the Red Cross.

"This is the beginning. We are hunting down every single hostage throughout Israel. We are taking them all,' Boehler said in a video shared by the flight.

The family of hostage Edan Alexander has confirmed that, after his release from the Gaza Strip, he is expected to travelto Qatar to meet with US President Donald Trump, 'depending on his health condition'. Ynet reports.

The release of Edan Alexander will immediately lead to talks on a broader agreement to end the war in Gaza. This is what CNN reports, citing a source close to the indirect talks between the US and Hamas. "We will immediately start negotiations for a peace agreement," the source said.

US officials, including President Donald Trump, described Alexander's release as a first step towards the end of the war and the release of all hostages.

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a former Shin Bet chief considered close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would resist American pressure. "We are not the 51st star on the US flag, he told public broadcaster Kan. "The goals of the war have not changed."

The Saudi Asharq al Awsat news agency reports that only the media wing of the Palestinian Islamist group will be allowed to document the handover, in an attempt to 'avoid any incident that might provoke the US administration'.

A similar protocol was followed during the release of former hostage Hisham al Sayed in February, which took place during a temporary ceasefire.

Both Israel and the United States had complained about other Hamas handover ceremonies, characterised by clumsy displays in which hostages were paraded through crowds of Gaza residents taunting them, forced to confess their love for their captors, and mockingly informed of the murders of their loved ones.

Mediators and the Red Cross have received notification that the hostage with dual Israeli and American citizenship, Idan Alexander is 'alive and well' and that procedures have begun to secure his release from Hamas today in Gaza. This was reported by a source close to the dossier to Saudi al-Sharq TV. If all goes well, Idan will be the first IDF soldier, male and still alive, kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October 2023 to return to Israel.

Hundreds of people gathered in the centre of Tenafly, New Jersey, hometown of hostage Idan Alexander, awaiting the young man's release after 584 days in captivity in Gaza.

People took to the streets wrapped in Israeli flags.

Alexander grew up in New Jersey and at the age of 18 decided to serve in the IDF, enlisting in the Golani brigade.

He was at his base on 7 October 2023 where he was abducted. Einav Zangauker, mother of the hostage Matan, said in a note that her son is being held captive together with Idan: 'They are both in a dark tunnel with no other hostages.

Currently Hamas is holding 14 Israeli soldiers hostage, eight of whom are reported dead, including the body of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, killed in 2014.

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war has risen to 52,862 dead and 119,648 wounded. This was reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health, pointing out that the toll in the last 24 hours is 33 dead and 94 wounded. According to the ministry, of the total figure 2,749 dead and 7,607 wounded have been recorded since the resumption of the war in March, which ended a two-month ceasefire. The Gaza Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll, but states that more than half of the victims are women and children.

This was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz after CNN reported Witkoff's imminent arrival in Tel Aviv ahead of the expected release of Edan Alexander, the American hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Born in New Jersey 21 years ago, he joined the Israeli army as a volunteer after graduating from high school in the US. He is now a member of the Israeli army.

The IDF stated that they are preparing for the release, possible today, of soldier Edan Alexander. After being handed over by Hamas to Red Cross representatives, Alexander will be transferred to the IDF special forces inside the Gaza Strip and then taken to a facility at the Re'im base.

Alexander will undergo an initial medical examination and meet his family before being transported by helicopter to Sourasky Hospital in Tel Aviv.

In the event of a medical emergency, Alexander will be immediately transported to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba or Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, without passing through Re'im.

The entire population of Gaza is at critical risk of famine, while as many as 500,000 people could die of starvation.

This was revealed in a study by the Integrated food Security phase classification (Ipc) - on behalf of the Food Security Analysis Unit (Fsau) of the UN Food and Agriculture - which underlines the serious deterioration of the latest data compared to the October assessment. The latest report analysed the period from 1 April to 10 May this year and provided projections of the situation until the end of September.

Palestinian sources report that Hamas will propose to operate exclusively as a political organisation, with its arsenal of weapons placed under close Egyptian supervision. This is reported by Haaretz, a left-wing Israeli daily.

This step in the negotiations should be discussed at later stages of the talks, provided Israel agrees to go ahead.

According to sources, staff members of the US president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, led negotiations with Hamas in Qatar, where they met with the chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, and other members of the Islamist group's political bureau. Hamas has been willing to accept a partial agreement that would result in the release of ten hostages, but wants the US to guarantee an end to the war at the end of the phases.

The eventual Hamas offer - pending officialisation - will obviously have to include the armed wing of the movement, the al Qassam Brigades.