US President Donald Trump will host former Hamas hostage Edan Alexander at the White House today to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre in which Edan and 250 other people were brutally abducted from southern Israel into Gaza.
The meeting will be held at 3 pm Eastern Standard Time or 10 pm Israel Time.
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.
During a previous meeting with President Trump in July, Edan told the President that his captors began to treat him better after Trump won the presidential election in November 2024.
Edan has also revealed that his captors showed him a photograph of his parents meeting with President Trump at the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s gravesite on the anniversary of October 7 and that seeing the photograph gave him hope. “That was the moment I realized my family was fighting for me all over the world,” he recalled.
Last week, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining 48 hostages who have been held for two full years without access to visits from the Red Cross or proper medical care.