Hostages

Hamas released the last living American hostage Monday, after he spent more than 580 days in captivity inside the Gaza Strip. 

Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was received by a specialized Israel Defense Forces unit and is going to be brought to an initial reception facility in Re’im, where he will undergo preliminary medical and psychological evaluation by IDF Medical Corps personnel, an Israeli official told Fox News. 

11:41

An Israeli official has confirmed that the handover of Edan Alexander from Hamas to the Red Cross has begun.

11:36

With Hamas reporting the handover of hostage Edan Alexander to the Red Cross - here's a quick look at how the Israeli side say today's release will unfold:

• It will follow the same procedure as previous hostage returns: Alexander will be handed from Hamas, to the Red Cross, to a special Israeli military unit...

Israel's war in Gaza grinds on, but opposition is growing.

In recent weeks, thousands of Israeli reservists – from all branches of the military – have signed letters demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government stop the fighting and concentrate instead on reaching a deal to bring back the remaining 59 hostages being held by Hamas.

Eighteen months ago, few Israelis doubted the war's logic: to defeat Hamas and return the hostages.

For many, the January ceasefire and subsequent return of more than 30 hostages raised hopes that the war might soon end.

The Taliban has released George Glezmann, an American airline mechanic from Atlanta abducted more than two years ago in Afghanistan, in a deal brokered by U.S. and Qatari negotiators, the State Department said on Thursday morning.

Glezmann was traveling as a tourist in Afghanistan when he was seized by the Taliban's intelligence services in December 2022. He was designated by the U.S. as wrongfully detained in 2023.

Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza, killing more than 400 people, Palestinian health authorities said on Tuesday, threatening the complete collapse of a two-month ceasefire as Israel vowed to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.

The Palestinian militant group, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire and jeopardising efforts by mediators to secure a permanent truce.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is over as Israeli fighter jets began striking the Gaza Strip after Hamas refused repeated hostage deal offers, officials said.

At least 326 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in the airstrikes, according to hospital officials.

Israel ordered all of Gaza's electricity supply to be cut off on Sunday in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli hostages held in the territory.

Energy minister Eli Cohen's announcement came a week after Israel cut off all aid supplies to the territory, which has a population of more than two million people.

In a video statement on Sunday, Cohen said: "We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after [the war]."

Israel is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza as the country’s energy minister vowed to use “all the tools available” to free the last of the hostages held by Hamas.

On March 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would halt the entry of all goods and supplies to Gaza. This decision came after Hamas rejected a framework proposed by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff intended to continue the hostage-ceasefire talks—a framework Israel had already agreed to.

Israel’s Energy Minister Eli Cohen has ordered an immediate halt to electricity supply to Gaza, threatening the functioning of the enclave’s desalination plants amid an ongoing aid shortage in the holy month of Ramadan.