Trump says he hopes other hostages will be released after Edan Alexander

By Jacob Magid

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12 May 2025, 5:55 pm Edit

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

Asked whether today’s release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander will be a step toward a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, US President Donald Trump says, “We hope that we’re going to have other hostages released.”

Trump adds that once Alexander is released, there will be 20 living hostages still in Gaza and 58 in total.

Israel has not officially confirmed this number though there are three hostages, of the previously thought 24 alive, who it believes may have died.