Former hostage Edan Alexander returned on Wednesday to the grounds of the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, this time in IDF uniform, delivering a defiant message to the terrorists who held him captive for more than a year and a half. It was his first time in uniform so close to the place that became, in his words, “the worst nightmare of my life.”
Alexander, who was released in May in a separate deal facilitated by U.S. President Donald Trump, said his return to military service was a deliberate choice to complete what he began before his abduction on October 7. “I was there a year and seven months,” he said. “I told myself there’s no way I go through the whole process of coming to Israel, enlisting and serving in an elite unit for 10 months only to stop. I need to finish the two years and eight months, maybe even more.”
Edan Alexander
“I need to close the circle,” he added. “I gathered knowledge over there — I know the language, I know the culture, I know a lot about these demons. I have to use all of that and come back. And now I’m here in uniform.”
Alexander said he wanted the terrorists to see that he would not break. “That’s what I wanted. I wanted them to see I’ll never break, and that I’ll return the favor. You gave me hell? I’ll give you hell. That’s it. That’s all I have to say.”
His mother, Yael, said in September that she was surprised by his decision to reenlist. “I didn’t expect it, but he’s happy with the decision, and if it comes from him, I support it. I hope it helps heal his soul,” she said. She confirmed he has already signed with the IDF and knows which unit he will join, though it is not yet public.
Alexander holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship and moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for service in the Golani Brigade. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv and later in Kibbutz Hazor with other lone soldiers. He was abducted on the morning of October 7, a weekend he could have spent with his mother, who was visiting, but he chose to remain on base so guard duty would not fall solely on his comrades.
During his captivity, he survived an airstrike that collapsed part of a tunnel where he was held, injuring his shoulder and hands as he clawed his way out. In another transfer between hideouts, he was disguised in local clothes and forced to ride in a donkey cart so he would not be recognized. His captors, including senior Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and members of his family, held him for long periods alongside high-ranking terrorists — a tactic Israel believes was meant to use him as a human shield and keep him away from potential targets due to his American citizenship.
Standing in uniform near the site of his abduction, Alexander said returning there was intentional. “This is what I wanted,” he said. “To show them I survived, I’m back, and I will never break.”