(LONDON) — Edan Alexander — the American-Israeli hostage freed from Gaza last week — was “weak and exhausted” upon his dramatic release, his mother Yael told ABC News, recalling her son’s first moments of freedom after 584 days as a Hamas captive.
“I was screaming and running until I bumped into him,” Yael said of her reunion with Edan at Israel’s Re’im military base near the Gaza border.
Edan “was so weak that he almost fell because he was also so excited, but he was so exhausted,” Yael continued. “I start crying like crazy. Because, that was the moment, you know? That’s it. I got it. My son is here. He’s in my arms.”
Edan, from New Jersey, moved to Israel at the age of 18. He was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when captured from his base close to the Gaza border during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. He was 19 when abducted and spent two birthdays in captivity.
Edan was the last living American citizen still believed to be held hostage by Hamas. The terror group is believed to also be holding the bodies of four dead American hostages, according to U.S. officials.
His father Adi told ABC News that Edan was “held in a facility” consisting of “a very dark and narrow room” with steel construction rebar. “You can call it the cage if you think about it,” he said.
News of a possible release broke on May 11, Mothers Day, but Adi nearly missed it. When he finally glanced at his phone he said he noticed eight missed phone calls from Steve Witkoff — President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — who was involved in direct negotiations with Hamas.
“My phone was on silent and I was working with the blower outside and it was too noisy,” he recalled. “I saw those eight missed calls and called them back immediately,” Adi continued, saying Witkoff then told him and Yael that within 10 minutes they would be hearing good news.
Fifty-seven hostages remain in Gaza, including over 20 who are believed to be alive, according to Israeli officials.
The IDF has now launched a new expanded operation in Gaza which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said is intended to both free the remaining hostages and conclusively defeat Hamas in the strip. The families of remaining hostages, though, have criticized the new operation, saying it puts surviving captives in danger.
While the IDF pressed its new offensive, Netanyahu said Israel would simultaneously allow the resumption of a “basic” level of humanitarian aid to Gaza after a 10-week freeze, citing pressure from the U.S. as a key driver in the decision.
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