His parents have gone to the White House several times over the past two years to appeal for his release. Edan Alexander, now a Tenafly resident, was recently released from a Hamas prisoner, but is on the way there as well.
The 21-year-old Alexander is believed to be the last American hostage to live in Gaza, and on July 3, he will meet President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, the White House said. The meeting is scheduled to take place around noon.
“The President and First Lady have met with many released hostages from Gaza, and they are very excited to meet Edan Alexander and his family in the oval office tomorrow,” Trump reporter Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.
Alexander was among the 251 hostages lured to Hamas during a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. For the 19 months of being taken prisoner, he was released on May 12th and returned to New Jersey two weeks ago to welcome the hero. Hundreds of residents of Tenafrie and surrounding towns lined the streets with flags and flags, as he cried out in a convoy through the town.
Alexander grew up in Bergen County and after graduating from Tenafree High School, he went to Israel, where his parents grew up. He volunteered for the Israeli army and was stationed in a post near Gaza when he was accused. He was 19 years old at the time.
Another freed Hamas, who met Trump, thanked Omar Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Nama Levi, Doron Steinbrecher and Noah Argamani for their efforts and called for the release of remaining prisoners of war in Gaza.
Alexander is expected to do the same thing.
Approximately 50 hostages or their bodies are believed to be still in Gaza. It is believed that more than half have died.
When Alexander was released, Hamas officials described it as a goodwill gesture towards Trump. In a phone conversation from an Israeli hospital after he was released, the former hostage told the president, “You’re the only reason I’m here. You saved my life.”
Trump told Alexander he was looking forward to seeing the whole family and that it would be his “biggest celebration.”
