WASHINGTON — On Thursday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to welcome Edan Alexander, the last remaining American hostage from Gaza, to the White House. He was released back in May and will meet with the President and First Lady in the Oval Office, according to a statement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Edan Alexander, now 21, is an American-Israeli hailing from New Jersey. At 19, he was a soldier stationed at a military base in Israel when militants captured him and took him to Gaza. After completing high school in 2022, Alexander moved to Israel where he joined the military.
He was kept captive by the militant group Hamas for 584 days before his release on May 12. Once freed, Alexander remained in Israel until traveling back to his family in New Jersey last month. His abduction was part of a larger attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 251 hostages being taken, triggering the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Earlier in March, President Trump hosted eight other former hostages released by Hamas at the White House. This group included individuals like Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, and Eli Sharabi among others.
The meeting with Edan Alexander is scheduled just days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to the White House. President Trump is continuing to urge both the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and settle a hostage agreement to bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.