Hamas says it will only release Edan Alexander if ceasefire deal implemented

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas says it would only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track.

A senior Hamas official says long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, the official says, who speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre that ignited the war and is the last living American citizen held in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, where government offices were closed for the weekly Sabbath. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday accused Hamas of “manipulation and psychological warfare” when the offer was initially made before Hamas spelled out the conditions.