Israel’s military received Edan Alexander, 21, from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which facilitated his transfer from Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Alexander kissed and embraced his father, brother and sister as well. An Israeli Air Force helicopter then took Alexander and his family to a hospital where he was to receive treatment.
Fighting halted at midday in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pause its operations to allow for the hostage release.
After Israeli fire resumed, authorities in Gaza said an air strike killed three people and wounded several others at a shelter housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas said it freed Alexander as a goodwill gesture to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region this week.
Netanyahu said Alexander’s release came thanks to Israel’s military pressure in Gaza and political pressure by Trump.
Netanyahu has said there will be no ceasefire and that plans to intensify military action in Gaza continued. “Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind,“ Netanyahu’s office said.
Social media video on Monday showed people dancing in the square of his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, after word of his release.
Qatar and Egypt said Alexander’s release was an encouraging step towards new truce talks. Israel will send a delegation to Qatar on Thursday to discuss a new proposal aimed at securing further hostage releases, Netanyahu’s office said.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitor, reported on Monday that half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation and there is a critical risk of famine by September.
Trump is due to visit Gulf states on a trip that does not include Israel but special envoy Steve Witkoff, who helped arrange Alexander’s release, was expected in Israel on Monday.
Israel’s government has drawn criticism over the deal to free Alexander, which laid bare the priority given to hostages able to rely on the support of a foreign government.
Addressing Trump in a statement she read with other hostage families, she said: “The Israeli people are behind you. End this war. Bring them all home”.
It has since extended its control of the territory and blocked off aid, leaving its 2 million people increasingly short of food.
Since then, over 52,000 Palestinians have been killed, Palestinian authorities say, and large swathes of the heavily built-up enclave have been laid to waste.
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