Just hours after his release, new details emerged Monday about the ordeal of IDF soldier Edan Alexander, who spent 584 days in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
According to a report by public broadcaster Kan, the Israeli-American was referred to by his Hamas captors as “the American.” He was subjected to severe torture during lengthy interrogations and was held alongside other hostages in southern Gaza, confined to a tunnel with no access to daylight.
For a prolonged period, he was locked in a cage, shackled by his hands and feet, which explains why he struggled to walk on his own upon release, due to prolonged physical weakness and restraint. Like other hostages, he suffered from extreme food deprivation, and only in recent months, apparently in preparation for his release, did his Hamas captors begin providing him with more food.
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He has since reunited with his family at the Re’im military reception base, where they awaited him with fresh clothing, just hours after flying in from the United States along with American officials who had been in contact with them throughout the war, among them Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler.
Alexander was the last known living hostage with American citizenship. He is now officially classified as a “former captive.”
The remains of four American citizens are still held by Hamas: Capt. Omer Neutra, Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, and the couple Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai. The U.S. is actively engaged in efforts to recover their remains, and the White House said Sunday that it has formally requested their return.