Hamas to release hostage following direct talks with US

Following recent direct talks in Doha, Qatar, between Hamas and U.S. representatives, Hamas on May 11 said it would release U.S.-Israeli hostage Idan Alexander. 

Hamas and U.S. representatives held direct talks in Doha in recent days, two officials from the Palestinian group said on May 11, with one saying there had been "progress" towards a truce in Gaza.

"Direct talks have taken place in Doha between the Hamas leadership and the United States regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, a prisoner exchange and the entry of humanitarian aid," said a senior Hamas official, adding that the talks "are still ongoing."

A second official from the Palestinian group said there was "progress made... notably on the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip."

The second official also reported progress "on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

Israel has not agreed to any ceasefire or release of prisoners with Hamas, but only to a safe corridor to allow the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Israel was informed a day earlier of Hamas’ decision to release Alexander, the last surviving U.S. hostage, as a goodwill gesture towards President Donald Trump after four-way talks between Hamas, the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

The release, which could come as early as Monday, could open the way to freeing the rest of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, but Netanyahu said Israeli forces would continue recently announced preparations to step up operations there.

“The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting,” his office said in a statement.

On Sunday, Hamas said it had been talking with the United States and had agreed to release Alexander, a move key Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt called an encouraging step towards a return to ceasefire talks in the war-torn enclave.

The talks came shortly before Trump is set to leave for a visit to the Gulf that will not include a stop in Israel.

U.S. officials have tried to calm fears in Israel of a growing distance between Israel and Trump, who last week announced an end to a U.S. campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have continued to fire missiles at Israel.

Families of the hostages and their supporters in Israel have pressed the government to reach a deal to secure the release of those still held in Gaza but Netanyahu has faced heavy pressure from hardliners in his cabinet not to end the war.

Last week, he announced plans to step up the operation in Gaza, which officials said could be seized entirely by Israeli forces.

Hamas continues to hold 58 hostages seized during the group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel ended the last ceasefire, which lasted two months, on March 18, launching a major offensive in Gaza and ramping up its bombardment of the territory.

It has also cut off all aid to Gaza, saying it would pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have taken place from the early months of the war without bringing it to an end.

Washington had for decades refused publicly to engage directly with Hamas, which it labels a terrorist organisation, before first doing so in March.

Hamas has continued to insist on a deal that ends the war and on April 18 rejected an Israeli proposal for a 45-day truce and hostage-prisoner exchange.

Hamas's 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on May 11 that at least 2,720 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the overall death toll since the war broke out to 52,829.