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Freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander has met President Trump and the first lady in the White House — where he revealed that his treatment during captivity improved after Trump was elected in November.
Accompanied by his parents, Adi and Yael, his sister Mika, and his brother Roy, Alexander personally thanked Trump for his role in securing his freedom.
“I came to thank the person responsible for saving my life. 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,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
He told Trump that, following his presidential election victory, his treatment at the hands of his Hamas captors improved.
“They weren’t too afraid of Biden,” Trump quipped in response.
Alexander was released on May 12 in what was billed as a goodwill gesture to Trump by the terror group.
The Tenefly, NJ, native, 21, had gone to Israel to complete his military service at the time of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks.
But he was kidnapped in the attack and held by Hamas in Gaza for the next 584 days.
During his imprisonment he endured torture and horrific conditions — which included time spent time shackled at the hands and feet and kept in a cage beneath Gaza in Hamas’ dark network of tunnels.
His family had no idea whether he was alive during most of those days, with one of their only glimmers of hope coming in April when he was forced to appear in a sickening propaganda video produced by his captors.
In it, Alexander was made to mock Passover, a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Israelites’ escape from slavery and captivity at the hands of ancient Egyptian tyrants.
When he was finally freed Alexander was severely malnourished and had to be hospitalized immediately.
But he was all smiles when he was reunited with his family in Israel, and was greeted with a procession of Israeli and American flags waving at him through the hospital’s halls.
He finally returned to New Jersey on June 19, and shared a photo of himself sipping on a beer with family once he was home.
Alexander is believed to have been the last living American hostage held in Gaza by the terror group.
During his meeting with Trump Thursday, he also asked the president to keep fighting for the 50 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. Half of them are feared to be dead.
“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,” Alexander 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.”
