(13 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv, Israel – 13 May 2025
1. Various of Yael and Adi Alexander, the parents of the released hostage Edan Alexander standing with supporters holding photos of hostages held in Gaza
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of released hostage Edan Alexander:
“It is wonderful to have Edan home. Really a gift from God to watch him, hard Yael, his brother, and his sister, knowing that his suffering is over and that our family can finally begin to heal."
3. Supporters holding photos of hostages
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of the released hostage Edan Alexander:
“For our family, joyful day for which we are in incredible depth and gratitude. Soon, Edan will be home in the United States in New Jersey, watching his little brother play basketball, reuniting with his friends in New Jersey. He's 21 now, and those happy kinds may include a beer too, but we will never forget the first beer he had on the rooftop of this very building since his release."
5. Close of Israeli Flag
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Adi Alexander, father of the released hostage Edan Alexander:
“Edan’s release is not just about our family, because of the leadership of the President, it also means that tomorrow, literally tomorrow, a new negotiation will begin that would lead to the release of more hostages and eventually the end of this war."
7. Supporters holding photos of hostages
8. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Yael Alexander, mother of the released hostage Edan Alexander:
“Along with the enlightenment that emerged from the meeting, the pain also arrived. Our heart was broken when Edan was telling us about the unimaginable difficulties and the daily fear, the hunger, the lack of water and appalling sanitary conditions.”
9. Close up of Adi Alexander
10. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Yael Alexander, mother of the released hostage Edan Alexander:
“But the most terrible sound that Edan feared was the sound of the war going on above their heads. Deafening explosions, the whistles of missiles, the sounds of collapse, collapse, and the earth shaking. Every moment was about to be the last moment.”
11. Pan left from supporters to parents
STORYLINE:
In a statement to the press a day after his release from Gaza, Edan Alexander’s parents said their son described enduring harsh conditions that included hunger, lack of water, and “appalling sanitary conditions.”
His mother, Yael, said he feared for his life every day, “but the most terrible sound that Edan feared was the sound of the war going on above their heads. Deafening explosions, the whistles of missiles, the sounds of collapse, collapse, and the earth shaking."
Alexander’s father, Adi, said Edan would soon be back home in the United States, “watching his little brother play basketball, reuniting with his friends in New Jersey.”
Monday's release of 21-year-old Edan Alexander resulted from negotiations between Hamas and the Trump administration that appeared to have largely bypassed Israel, which made no concessions for his release.
Alexander, who was 19-years-old when he was taken from an Israeli army base during the 2023 attack, was the first hostage released since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.
“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday evening.
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