Hamas said Friday that it had agreed to release Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen held hostage in Gaza, as well as the bodies of four dual-nationals. Nothing has been finalized, Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman told NBC News. But he said that the militant group had agreed to a proposal put forward by mediators and was awaiting the results of further negotiations. The decision to free Alexander, an American Israeli, was first announced in a statement posted to Telegram on Friday. It said that Hamas was ready to begin negotiations to start the second phase of its ceasefire deal with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Hamas was engaging in “manipulation and psychological warfare.”
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to free an American-Israeli dual national if Israel begins a phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war, but Israel dismissed the offer as "psychological warfare". Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army, and hand over bodies of four other dual national hostages, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the stalled second phase of a ceasefire deal.
Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American, will be released along with the bodies of four other hostages, according to a deal offered by mediators. As of Friday, Alexander has been held captive for 525 days, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. The bodies that will be released are of dual-national hostages, the Associated Press reported. It's unclear when the transfer will happen, but it comes as talks are ongoing in Qatar to establish the next phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the first phase of which ended on March 1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that he will convene his ministerial team on Saturday to receive a detailed report from negotiators and decide on the next steps for the release of the hostages.
