By: Fern Sidman

In a moment both somber and celebratory, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to welcome American-Israeli freed hostage Edan Alexander to the White House on Thursday, just two weeks after the 21-year-old was liberated from Hamas captivity following 584 days of unimaginable suffering. The long-anticipated Oval Office meeting, confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karolina Leavitt, highlights the emotional and geopolitical weight of Alexander’s story—a deeply personal saga now entwined with the Trump administration’s broader diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.

As The New York Post reported on Wednesday, Alexander—believed to be the last living American citizen held by Hamas in Gaza—endured nearly 19 months in the subterranean hell of the terror group’s vast tunnel network, often confined in a cage and shackled hand and foot. His release on May 12 was hailed by Trump as a milestone achievement in his ongoing initiative to dismantle Hamas’s grip on hostages and stabilize the region through direct engagement and military-backed diplomacy.

“The President and First Lady have met with many released hostages from Gaza, and they greatly look forward to meeting Edan Alexander and his family in the Oval Office tomorrow,” said Leavitt in a statement Wednesday evening. The meeting will reportedly include a private sit-down followed by a brief photo opportunity and statement to the press.

Born and raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Edan Alexander graduated from Tenafly High School before making aliyah to Israel in 2022. As The New York Post has chronicled, he joined the Israel Defense Forces shortly thereafter and was serving as a staff sergeant on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its unprecedented terror assault on Israel, abducting over 250 people and triggering the war in Gaza.

Alexander was among those dragged into Gaza, where he would vanish into Hamas’s terror labyrinth. Throughout his captivity, reports from Israeli broadcaster Kan and later confirmed by The New York Post revealed that Alexander was subjected to repeated torture, extreme deprivation, and long periods of isolation in pitch-black tunnels. “He was frequently locked in a cage, malnourished, weak, and bound for days at a time,” one senior Israeli intelligence official told the Post following his release.

His survival, said a former IDF officer familiar with the hostage rescue effort, was nothing short of miraculous: “He emerged from the darkness broken in body, but not in spirit.”

Alexander’s release was the result of a delicate negotiation orchestrated under President Trump’s directive, involving Israeli, Qatari, and Egyptian intermediaries. The deal, reached quietly after months of deadlock, was finalized amid growing international pressure to recover remaining captives and stabilize southern Israel.

For Alexander’s family, Thursday’s visit to the White House is a moment of profound relief. After his emotional return to Tenafly on June 19, the community welcomed him with tears, applause, and flags—American and Israeli alike.

The New York Post documented the homecoming in vivid detail: neighbors lining the streets, IDF veterans saluting, and friends breaking down as they embraced a young man they feared they might never see again. “This is what miracles look like,” one family friend told the Post. “You pray every night for something like this, and now he’s home.”

President Trump, who has made the issue of hostage recovery a central tenet of his foreign policy, had previously met with eight freed Hamas captives at the White House in March. Those meetings, covered by The New York Post, have become symbolic touchstones for the administration’s more assertive posture toward terror networks and their state sponsors.

Trump’s meeting with Alexander comes just two days after the president announced that Israel had agreed to the terms of a new 60-day cease-fire with Hamas—a tentative framework that will soon be presented to the terrorist group for final consideration. If implemented, it could mark a turning point in efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages and wind down the protracted conflict in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also scheduled to visit Washington on Monday for high-level consultations with the Trump administration. While much of the agenda will focus on military coordination and Iran, officials told The New York Post that continued hostage recovery and cease-fire enforcement will dominate the private discussions.

According to sources close to the administration, Trump views Alexander’s meeting not only as a personal gesture of compassion but also as a political signal—reinforcing his campaign’s message of strength, commitment to U.S. citizens abroad, and his unique rapport with Israel’s leadership during times of war.

While political implications loom large, Thursday’s meeting is first and foremost a reunion between a president and a citizen whose fate became a symbol of enduring American-Israeli solidarity.

As The New York Post report indicated, Edan Alexander is more than a political story—he is a living testament to resilience. His suffering is a scar on the conscience of the international community; his survival, a reminder of what is still at stake.

In the quiet moments behind the doors of the Oval Office, Edan will tell his story to the man whose administration helped bring him home. And perhaps, as the cameras flash and the world watches, the gravity of that journey—from captivity to the heart of American power—will serve as a poignant reminder: even in the darkest of tunnels, there is still a path to light.