Freed Hostage Meets Trump, Pushes for Deal to Rescue Remaining Captives

In a powerful and emotional Oval Office meeting, Edan Alexander the 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier recently freed from Hamas captivity thanked President Donald Trump for securing his release and urged him to continue pushing for the release of the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.

“I came to thank the person responsible for saving my life,” Alexander said. “It was deeply moving to be in the White House, the same place where my parents had fought for my release so many times, but this time together with them.” Alexander had been held hostage by Hamas for 584 days before his unconditional release in May, a gesture widely seen as an attempt by Hamas to open ceasefire negotiations with the Trump administration.

Alexander’s remarks confirmed what many suspected about the geopolitical shift since Trump’s return to the Oval Office. “They weren’t too afraid of Biden,” Trump said during the meeting, and Alexander agreed that his captors’ behavior noticeably changed after the 2025 inauguration.

Now, Alexander is asking Trump to finish the job.

“I told the most powerful man in the world what I went through, what my friends are enduring, and asked him to continue doing everything in his power,” he said. “I shared with the president my fear that continued fighting endangers the hostages. I hope he can achieve another historic breakthrough a comprehensive deal to free all 50 hostages. I told him I am confident he is the person who can make it happen.”

The timing couldn’t be more critical. Trump is slated to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next Monday and has vowed to be “very firm” about the urgency of ending the war. “He wants it, too,” Trump said, signaling optimism that a deal could be reached as early as next week.

On the diplomatic front, progress appears within reach. Hamas announced this week it is “generally positive” about the latest hostage-ceasefire deal proposed by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. The proposal calls for Hamas to release 10 living hostages and return the bodies of 18 deceased captives in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire during which a permanent peace could be negotiated.

Israel’s foreign minister confirmed the country is eager to resume talks “as soon as possible.”

This is a moment of real opportunity made possible by the return of strong, competent leadership in the White House. President Trump is once again proving that peace through strength is more than a slogan. It’s a strategy and it’s working.

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