The group said the release highlights the failure of Israeli military operations to bring captives home, and called on the Trump administration to intensify mediation efforts and end the war.
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas announced on Tuesday that the release of Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander was the result of serious contacts with the US administration and mediation efforts, not due to Israeli military action or pressure.
In a statement shared on its Telegram channel, Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of misleading the Israeli public and failing to recover captives through military aggression.
The group stated that Alexander’s release demonstrates that meaningful negotiations and a prisoner exchange are the only viable path to securing the return of captives and ending the war.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, released Alexander on Monday and handed him over to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Despite Netanyahu’s claim that the release was achieved through military pressure, Hamas reiterated that it resulted from diplomatic contacts with the US and mediators working to achieve a ceasefire, reopen border crossings, and facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The movement called on the Trump administration to intensify its efforts to end the war and expressed its readiness to immediately engage in negotiations toward a comprehensive ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the lifting of the blockade, a prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Ongoing Genocide
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 52,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(PC, AJA)
It was so good to see Edan Alexander acknowledge this fact …. so impressive to see Edan Alexander REFUSE to meet with netanyahu…. REFUSE to allow himself to be a willing pawn in israel’s genocide in Gaza… Edan Alexander reminds us that there are decent jews in this world and there are fine young men too. Little was said on the issue, but I say Hamas deserves a great deal of praise in protecting him and keeping him alive through so many months of the zionists’ bombing and enforced scarcity. I half suspect, that Hamas will miss him… but the reality of his welcome release has the potential to tear israel’s body-politic apart.