American-Israeli captivity survivor Edan Alexander met on Thursday with United States President Donald Trump at the White House, the day before Independence Day.
Among those present at the meeting were Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Edan was accompanied by his parents, Adi and Yael, his sister Mika, and his brother Roy.
During the half-hour meeting, Alexander recounted to the President how, after the election, his Hamas captors treated him better.
He told the president: "I fear continued fighting endangers the hostages and hope you can achieve another historic breakthrough—a comprehensive deal to free them all, all 50 hostages. You are the person who can make it happen."
Following the meeting, Alexander stated, "I came to thank the person who is responsible for saving my life. I was deeply moved to be in the White House—the same place where my parents had been many times during their fight for my release, but this time together with them."
He recounted: "I told the most powerful man in the world what I went through, what my friends there are going through, and asked him to continue doing everything in his power. I shared with the President my fear that continued fighting endangers the hostages, and that I hope he can achieve another historic breakthrough—a comprehensive deal to free them all, all 50 hostages. I told him I'm confident he is the person who can make it happen. I'm deeply moved that I could celebrate my own freedom on the eve of Independence Day."
Edan, who holds both Israeli and American citizenship, moved to Israel alone and enlisted as a lone soldier to serve in the Golani Brigade. He was kidnapped on October 7th and was freed after 584 days in captivity, thanks to a release deal secured by the American administration.