US working to free American Edan Alexander as part of talks with Hamas, terror group says
The US is pushing Hamas to release Edan Alexander, the final American being held in Gaza, as part of direct talks with the terror organization, the group said.
Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas political adviser, confirmed reports that the US was negotiating with the terrorists for the first time in decades ā with the group open striking to a deal to free Alexander, 21, a New Jersey native.
āSeveral meetings have already taken place in Doha, focusing on releasing one of the dual-nationality prisoners,ā Nono told Reuters on Sunday.
Trumpās hostage envoy Adam Boehler, meanwhile, said a broader cease-fire deal could be agreed āwithin weeksā ā resulting in the release of all hostages.
āWe have dealt positively and flexibly, in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people,ā he added.
The Hamas adviser suggested Alexander would only be freed along with the other 23 hostages are are believed to be alive in the Palestinian enclave.
The first phase of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas has lapsed, but the war has not started again. The two sides are currently working to strike and accord that would permanently end the war and send all hostages back home.
Nono said heās confident hostage envoy Adam Boehler and TrumpāsĀ special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will be able to secure the implementation of phase two.
The Trump administration has flagged Alexander as a ātop priority,ā with Boehler speaking directly with Hamas negotiators without prior notice to Israel, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Boehler defended the talks on Sunday, telling CNNās Jake Tapper that America is free to do what is in its best interest and that Israel will have to make some compromises in the heated negotiations.
āWeāre the United States. Weāre not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play,ā Boehler said.
āThere is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what theyāve accepted, and what Israel wants and itās accepted,ā he added.
Boehler also claimed that a large deal was in the works to free not just Alexander, but all the 59 hostages in Gaza ā including the bodies of 35 hostages that were killed there.
āSomething could come together within weeks,ā Boehler said. āIĀ think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans.ā
The specifics of the secret talks between the US and Hamas remain unclear, with the current cease-fire in Gaza held together by an agreement to avoid battling so long as negotiations are taking place.
The key issue revolves around phase two of the deal, which calls on both sides to establish the conditions for who will rule Gaza after the war.
Hamas, the current de-facto leaders who have governed the Palestinian enclave since 2007, have rejected Israelās call for the group to give up their arms and any ambition to rule Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel refuses to fully withdraw from Gaza, seeking to control the enclaves southern border crossing with Egypt to halt the alleged flow of weapons.
With Post wires
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