Hamas said it will release the last living American hostage held in Gaza after renewed talks with the U.S. over a truce deal with Israel.

The freeing of 21-year-old Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who’s a U.S. citizen, is a step toward reaching a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the Palestinian militant group said late Sunday in a statement on Telegram.

While Hamas didn’t say when Alexander would be released, Israel’s government said Monday morning it could happen in the next 24 hours.

The development could help put “an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post.

Israel appeared to have had little say over the talks between Washington and Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and many other countries. Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed group in Gaza since Hamas attacked the country in October 2023.

“The U.S. has informed Israel of Hamas’s intention to release soldier Edan Alexander as a gesture to the Americans, without conditions or anything in exchange,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. The country isn’t committed to a ceasefire and will only agree to a safe corridor to allow for Alexander’s transportation, it added.

In March, the U.S. rejected a similar proposal from Hamas for Alexander’s release after the two sides talked in Qatar. At the time, Israel made clear its objections to the idea — which many in Israel saw as favoring one hostage over others — and to the U.S. holding negotiations with Hamas.

The U.S. and Hamas announcements came shortly before Trump’s trip to the Gulf. He arrives in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, before heading to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He hasn’t planned a stop in Israel.

Hamas said it wants Gaza’s border crossings to be opened and for aid to be allowed into the war-ravaged territory. Israel halted flows of food and other assistance and resumed air strikes in March after the end of a roughly two-month truce, which had seen dozens of hostages released in return for imprisoned Palestinians.

Israel’s government is under heavy pressure at home to negotiate for the release the remaining 59 hostages, about 24 of which the Israeli military believes are alive.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told local radio the deal on Alexander was a result of Israeli military pressure on Hamas.

Speaking to 103FM, he said Israel is willing to negotiate a previous U.S. proposal that would lead to the release of 10 other living hostages and, eventually, talks on ending the war. Those negotiations would, he said, have to meet Israel’s demand that Hamas disarms and removes itself from power in Gaza.

“This is, first and foremost, good news,” Avi Dichter, Israel’s agriculture minister, told Kan radio of Alexander’s potential release. “The method doesn’t matter — whether through an heroic military operation, or through the ability of the U.S. president, or through a deal, or anything else.”

Mediators Egypt and Qatar welcomed the move, saying it encourages a restart to negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages and the flow of humanitarian aid, according to a statement by the Qatari foreign ministry.

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, of which more than 100 were freed in an early ceasefire the following month. The subsequent and ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including hundreds of Israeli troops.

The United Nations has warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to the lack of aid.

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—With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron.

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