- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll send mediators to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of more captives held in Gaza.
- Hamas releases Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, 21, “paving the way” for a return to ceasefire talks for the war-battered Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group says.
- Gaza’s entire population is at critical risk of famine and half a million Palestinians in the besieged territory face starvation, according to the world’s leading hunger monitor.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,862 Palestinians and wounded 119,648, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 taken captive.
Palestinian groups call for ‘diplomatic humanitarian convoy’ to Gaza
Palestinian civil society groups are calling for the international community to support the immediate deployment of a convoy through Gaza’s Rafah crossing to stop the “manufactured famine” gripping the Palestinian enclave.
“We urge states to join the humanitarian convoy by dispatching official diplomatic missions – at the highest possible level – to accompany the aid trucks already waiting at the Rafah Crossing, and to enter Gaza alongside them,” the groups said in a statement.
“This is an act of legal obligation, moral courage, and human solidarity.”
Nearly 250 Palestinian and international rights groups signed onto the call to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
“This is a human imperative. A Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy would mark a historic step to break the siege, end the starvation, and affirm the world’s rejection of hunger as a weapon of war.”
Israel says it will hold off intensified attacks on Gaza
Israel will carry on with its plan to ramp up the war on Gaza but it won’t launch it until after Trump’s visit to the Middle East, to allow for a potential new ceasefire deal to emerge, according to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also confirmed to reporters Israel will hold off the start of the expanded military action in Gaza for a few days.
“Israel is preparing a major operation in Gaza, we are not hiding it. We have called up the reserves and we have the troops ready. And if there will be no development in the negotiations, we will apply pressure, military pressure, in order to make sure that we bring back the hostages and then eliminate Hamas,” Danon said.
“It can be avoided … if the framework that Ambassador Witkoff proposed will be accepted.”
Many Israelis hope Trump can free more captives from Gaza
The US-Hamas negotiation to release an Israeli soldier is being viewed in Israel by some as an “embarrassment or maybe humiliation”, a political analyst says.
“The Israeli government did not have the feeling of enough responsibility to bring him [Israeli soldier Edan Alexander] back home,” Tel Aviv-based commentator Akiva Eldar told Al Jazeera.
Parents of young Israeli reservists being deployed to Gaza are now questioning what will happen to their children if captured, he added.
“We have the most nationalistic, patriotic government and we see they are taking orders from a foreign government. The United States has a lot of influence on Israel, but the bottom line is President Trump made a decision for us, and he made a deal with Hamas,” noted Eldar.
Many Israelis hope Trump will make the effort to free other captives because “we know this government is really willing to pay the price – and we know what that price is”.
“We know Alexander and many other captives could have been back in Israel months ago,” he added.
Rights advocates to file complaint accusing US of ‘genocide complicity’
Palestinian rights advocates in the US are planning to file a complaint this week with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) accusing the US government of “complicity in genocide in Gaza”.
Palestinian American lawyer Huwaida Arraf said the complaint is being filed “because the US government has effectively shielded itself from accountability for its international crimes under its own legal system, even for crimes against humanity and genocide”.
The US provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military assistance annually. Washington has provided billions more since the war on Gaza began in October 2023 and vetoed UN resolutions seeking to get Israel to end its offensive.
“While the United States actively enables and materially supports Israel’s atrocities, it has constructed legal shields at home that deny victims even the chance to seek redress,” Arraf said in a statement.
“The United States cannot continue to finance, arm, and politically cover for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide abroad while remaining immune from international scrutiny. This petition is a call for accountability where none has yet been possible.”
The complaint is to be filed on Wednesday at the IACHR headquarters in Washington, DC.
Israeli army says Edan Alexander on way to hospital
The released US-Israeli captive is accompanied by his family on his way to an Israeli hospital, the military says.
“He will meet with the rest of his family and receive medical treatment,” it said in a statement.
Separately, the White House shared a photo on X appearing to show Alexander holding a handwritten sign that reads, “Thank you President Trump”.
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Netanyahu’s ‘indecisiveness’ led to US-Hamas direct talks
Relatives of other captives held in Gaza have expressed frustration after the release of Edan Alexander by Hamas.
Families of abductees without foreign citizenship accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of indifference.
“Hamas saw that [US] President Trump had enough of Netanyahu’s indecisiveness and threw him a bone, leaving Israel out,” said Shimon Or, whose nephew remains held in Gaza, told the YNet news outlet.
Israel stressed that it remains under no obligation to agree to a ceasefire or prisoner exchange. And despite the release, Israel signalled its intention to escalate military action in Gaza.
‘Despite the calm, we are cautious’: Gaza resident
The release of Alexander has led to a pause in Israeli attacks on Gaza, which has provided a much-needed respite for residents of the war-battered territory.
Somaya Abu al-Kas, 34, who has been displaced to the southern city of Khan Younis, said: “Calm settled over Gaza. There was no shelling and no nearby aircraft, which is very rare.”
“We are tired of the shelling, and any ceasefire – even if temporary – we consider it an opportunity to breathe and gather ourselves.”
But Um Mohammed Zomlot, 50, also displaced in Khan Younis, said: “Despite the calm, we are cautious.”
“Everyone is afraid the shelling might resume suddenly after the prisoner is released,” Zomlot said.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed on the latest developments:
- US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander has been released from Gaza and returned to Israel as part of a deal reached between Hamas and US President Donald Trump’s administration.
- The Palestinian group says it agreed to release the 21-year-old “as part of the efforts being made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll send mediators to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of other captives.
- Top American and Israeli leaders have welcomed Alexander’s release with the US ambassador to Israel saying Washington hopes it signals “the beginning of the end” to the war.
- The World Health Organization chief calls for an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza as Palestinians suffer from acute malnutrition and a lack of humanitarian supplies.
Netanyahu credits army and US ‘political pressure’ for soldier’s release
The Israeli prime minister calls the release of the US-Israeli captive a “very emotional moment”.
“Edan Alexander has come home. We embrace him, and we embrace his family,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
“This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by President Trump. This is a winning combination.”
Netanyahu also said he spoke with Trump, who repeated his commitment to defeating Hamas and freeing the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Captives forum says Alexander’s return is ‘beacon of hope’
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has welcomed the release of the US-Israeli captive “after 584 agonizing days of captivity”, according to a statement.
“Edan’s release is a beacon of light and hope, and it is also a reminder that 58 hostages are still being held captive in Gaza,” it said.
“No hostage can be left behind. Unless all of them return, there will be no Israeli victory.”
