Who is Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American hostage freed by Hamas?

American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander was freed from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday by the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas, the latter said in a statement.

The release of the only living US hostage held captive in Gaza since October 7, 2023, came as US President Donald Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he began a tour of the Middle East that also included the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, one of the mediators between Israel and Hamas.

"The Al Qassam Brigades have just released Zionist soldier and American citizen Edan Alexander, following contacts with the US administration, as part of the mediators' efforts to reach a ceasefire," the Palestinian Islamist movement said in a statement.

Minutes earlier, the group announced it had held direct discussions with the United States in Doha, in which there had been "progress" toward a truce in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Islamist movement official told AFP.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) later confirmed Alexander's "handover" to the Israeli military, also stating that the hostage was handed over to them in the Gaza Strip and was already in Israel.

The Israeli government extended a "warm welcome" to Edan Alexander, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

"I'm impatient and happy. (...) We hope to be able to hug Edan and feel that he's really with us," Varda Ben Baruch, Alexander's grandmother, had previously declared in her Tel Aviv apartment.

On March 18, Israel broke a two-month truce and resumed its offensive in the Gaza Strip to force Hamas to release the hostages still held since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

A ceasefire between January 19 and March 17 allowed the release of 33 Israeli hostages from Gaza, including eight who died, in exchange for the release of some 1,800 Palestinians held by Israel.

Negotiations to end the fighting, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, have so far been unsuccessful.

Hamas is calling for a "comprehensive settlement" and on April 18 rejected an Israeli proposal for a truce of at least 45 days, which included the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and authorization to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel, for its part, demands the return of all hostages and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

Alexander was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, at the age of 19. He was serving as a soldier in an elite infantry unit on the Gaza border when he was abducted by Palestinian militants.

The young man was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He returned to Israel after high school to join the army.

Now 21, he is believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza.

Alexander's release had already been discussed between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler.

Steve Witkoff, special envoy for US President Donald Trump, called Alexander's release an "absolute priority" a few weeks ago. Hamas has so far released 38 hostages under a short-lived ceasefire that began on January 19.