Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old native of New Jersey and believed to be the last living American held hostage by Hamas, returned home Thursday after spending more than 500 days in captivity.
Alexander arrived in a motorcade in his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, on Thursday, where he was greeted by crowds of residents and supporters.
He returned to the U.S. aboard an American repatriation flight that carried diplomats and their families out of Israel as its conflict with Iran escalates.
Alexander holds U.S.-Israeli citizenship. He was serving in the Israeli Military on Oct. 7 2023, the day Hamas stormed Israel and took captives into Gaza. At the time, he was 19 years old.
Hamas released him as part of ceasefire negotiations in May. Alexander was taken to a military base in Israel and reunited with his family, who flew from the U.S. to meet him.
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Hamas is believed to still hold 53 hostages. More than half of them are thought to have died since they were taken captive.
Israel earlier in June recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai. Their deaths were announced in December of 2023.
