Middle East latest: Israeli military says hostage released in Gaza is back with its forces

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying its fighters operate in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike.

The release and the attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.

After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel has intensified the war in the Gaza Strip, where its 10-week blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis.

Here is the latest:

Relief from another Israeli-American soldier who was in Gaza with Alexander

“I feel like I can finally breathe," said Agam Shalam, who went to high school and trained for the Israeli army in a unit with Alexander.

She recalled being on a kibbutz in southern Israel when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, hiding in bomb shelters and hearing after a couple days that an Israeli military officer had contacted Alexander’s parents to say that he had been taken hostage.

She called it as “an insane thing to hear, for the first time. I don’t think anyone ever, I never expected for my friend to be held hostage, not for a stay, not for a week and certainly not for 580 days.”

Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority has lifted a ban on the Qatar-based network and will allow it to resume work in the occupied West Bank

There was no official comment from PA.

The PA imposed a ban on Al Jazeera in January, accusing it of incitement. The move came after Al Jazeera covered a rare crackdown on West Bank militants led by the PA's security forces.

Israel banned Al Jazeera last year, accusing it of incitement and of serving as a mouthpiece of Hamas.

Al Jazeera has denied the allegations and accused both Israel and the PA of trying to silence critical coverage.

The PA exercises limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli music plays in freed hostage's New Jersey hometown as crowds gather

Hundreds of supporters packed the streets of the 21-year-old Alexander's hometown, hugging, jumping and swaying to Israeli music blasting on speakers. They cheered the news of his release while watching a live news broadcast from Israel on a large videoscreen.

Shirly Zaifman, whose children went to school with Alexander, said his family is an important part of the town.

“People are here for him because he brings people together,” Zaifman said.

Carley Peven, of Teaneck, N.J. said “we are overjoyed, we could use some good news while we still have 58 other hostages, we’re going to take this moment to celebrate.”

Her heart, she said, is “overflowing. We’ve been fighting for this for over 500 days.”

Israeli military says hostage released in the Gaza Strip is now with its forces

The Israeli military says a hostage released in the Gaza Strip, Edan Alexander, was with the Red Cross and is now with Israeli forces.

Alexander was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza. His release would be the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, unleashing fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds.

Hamas says it released an American-Israeli hostage

Hamas says it has released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander as a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration to try to revive talks on ending the war.

There was no immediate confirmation from Israel.

The release comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.

People gather in Alexander's hometown in support of his release

In Edan Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey people gathered in the streets around Huyler Park with yellow “welcome home” and “bring them home” signs and set up a large video screen with a live newsfeed from Israel. Supporters have gathered every Friday to march for the hostages’ release.

Shirly Zaifman, whose children went to school with Alexander, said the 21-year-old is funny, smart and athletic, and that his family is an important part of the town.

“We’re ecstatic, we’re nervous just because we know, you know, anything can happen last minute,” Zaifman said, draped in an American and Israel flag. “We’re hoping for the best, it looks like it’s happening, but it’s such a thrill.”

Trump said he’s weighing removing sanctions on Syrian government

“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.

The comments were striking change in tone from the president on Syria sanctions and the government of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December.

The Trump administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, and HTS remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.

Hawks in the White House and the Republican Party have been skeptical of al-Sharaa’s transformation and insist Syria remains a counter-terrorism issue.

Trump cheers special envoy Steve Witkoff for Edan Alexander’s expected release from Gaza

Trump said that the U.S.-Israeli citizen was expected to be released by Hamas in the “next two hours” or “sometime today.”

“He’s coming home to his parents, which is really great news,” Trump told reporters at the White House shortly he was scheduled to depart for a whirlwind visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

Trump credited his special envoy Steve Witkoff in helping win the release of Alexander, 21.

The president said that Witkoff, a New York real estate developer turned diplomat, knew “very little about the subject matter” but learned quickly.

“He has a special way about him,” Trump said of Witkoff.

Edan Alexander is to be released at around 1530 GMT

An Israeli official says Hamas is expected to release Edan Alexander at around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT).

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to brief the media

UN and an aid group slam Israel’s Gaza blockade after report warns of famine risk

A senior United Nations official said Monday's hunger report in Gaza is "extremely concerning" given that the strip's roughly 2 million population continues to face "a very critical risk of famine."

Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, said Gaza’s food system has collapsed since Israel reimposed its blockade.

“We are moving into a period where the entire population of the Gaza Strip … are continuing to face a very critical risk of famine and extreme hunger and malnutrition,” she said in an interview.

Mahmoud Alsaqqa, food security coordinator for the charity Oxfam, meanwhile, slammed Israel’s blockade, saying that thousands of aid trucks carrying aid were prevented from reaching desperate civilians.

“Gaza’s starvation is not incidental—it is deliberate, entirely engineered,” he said. “ It is unconscionable and is being allowed to happen.”

Relatives of hostages voice anger ahead of American-Israeli’s release

Dani Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran, said he was happy for Edan Alexander’s expected release but “very sad that families of hostages need foreign passports to release their loved ones.” He said, “Does this country not know how to protect our citizens?”

Other relatives also expressed frustration over Israel’s failure to secure the release of their loved ones.

“We do not trust our government,” said Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen. “We need you, we need the United States, we need President Trump, we need special envoy Steve Witkoff to finish the job and free all the hostages.”

Einav Zangauker said her son, Matan, was held together with Edan Alexander and her “heart breaks from the knowledge that he will languish alone in captivity.”

Addressing Trump in English, she said, “Mr. President, sir, all of the Israeli people are behind you. End this war! Bring them all home!”

Experts say Gaza is at critical risk of famine

Food security experts said on Monday the Gaza Strip is at critical risk of famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign.

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, said outright famine is the most likely scenario unless conditions change.

Nearly half a million Palestinians are in “catastrophic” levels of hunger, meaning they face possible starvation, the report said, while another million are at “emergency” levels of hunger.

Bodies of 33 people killed in Israeli strikes brought to hospitals over past 24 hours

The Palestinian Health Ministry also said Monday hospitals received 94 wounded. The dead included four bodies that were recovered from under the rubble, it said.

The death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has now reached 52,862, the ministry said, while 119,648 have been wounded.

It said the tally includes 2,749 dead and 7,607 wounded since Israel resumed the war in March, shattering a nearly 2-month ceasefire.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the dead were women and children.

Israel asks top international court to revoke Netanyahu’s arrest warrant

Israel has filed a request with the International Criminal Court to have arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, revoked after an appeal last month ordered a pretrial panel to reconsider jurisdiction but did not suspend the warrants.

In a filing made public over the weekend.

Israel says the court did not have the legal authority to issue arrest warrants in November.

The warrants allege that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for crimes against humanity in the Gaza war. Israel, which is not a member of the court and rejects its jurisdiction, strongly refutes the allegations.

Hamas says American-Israeli hostage held in Gaza will be released

Hamas says it will release Edan Alexander on Monday.

Alexander, an Israeli soldier, was taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023.

Family of hostage set to be freed expresses joy and thanks Trump

Edan Alexander’s family said in a statement that it “received the greatest gift imaginable — news that our beautiful son Edan is returning home after 583 days in captivity in Gaza.”

Alexander’s parents, who live in the United States, were making their way to Israel ahead of the expected release.

The family said it was deeply grateful to Trump and his administration for their efforts to secure Edan's release.

It also urged the Israeli government to continue efforts to free all the hostages. “Please don’t stop. We hope our son’s release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families.”

Some families of hostages uneasy over the planned release of Edan Alexander

The relatives of Israeli hostages welcomed the imminent release of the American-Israeli hostage, but there is also unease.

Some said Alexander was singled out for freedom because of his American citizenship and said they were worried about the fate of the other 23 living and roughly 35 dead captives who remain in Gaza.

“Trump is rescuing him. Who will rescue Gali and Ziv?” Maccabit Mayer, the aunt of sibling hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday. She said she was sorry the twin brothers don't have “the right citizenship.”

Also, some of the relatives accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to free their loved ones, saying his insistence on continuing the war in Gaza is politically motivated.

Hamas says it will release last living American hostage in Gaza in a ceasefire effort

Hamas says the last living American hostage in Gaza will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume aid delivery to the battered enclave.

Two Hamas officials have told The Associated Press they expect the release of Edan Alexander in the next 48 hours.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed in a message to the AP that Hamas has agreed to release Alexander as a goodwill gesture toward Trump.

Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States.

Famine looms as Israel presses its Gaza blockade

Hospital patients are among the most vulnerable as Palestinians across Gaza struggle to feed themselves.

Israel’s blockade on food and other supplies entering the territory is now in its third month and hospitals are unable to provide food. Families must bring whatever they can find to help loved ones recover and doctors say patients have lost weight in recent weeks.

Aid groups say malnutrition is on the rise across Gaza. Food distributions have ended and charity kitchens are rapidly closing. Markets are empty of almost everything but canned goods and small amounts of vegetables, and prices have been rising.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Credit: AP