IDF said limiting Gaza operations ahead of Edan Alexander release, but no truce

Israeli forces have not been instructed to halt military activities in the Gaza Strip ahead of the expected release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, but will make “adjustments” to allow safe passage of the captive out of the Strip, Channel 12 reported.

“Adjustments have been made for the release, but the army continues with normal operations,” a security source tells the network amid conflicting reports of a truce ahead of the release that was negotiated without Israel’s involvement.

The Kan public broadcaster also said that there was no ceasefire in Gaza but that military activity across the Strip had been limited to avoid harming the release process of Alexander.

However, a short while ago, there was an exchange of fire between IDF troops and terror operatives in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya,  the military said.

An IDF reservist was lightly injured  in the clash and taken to a hospital for treatment, the IDF said.

The Hamas-linked Shehab outlet reported artillery shelling near Gaza City, and small arms fire north of Rafah in the southern Strip. Shelling was also reported by other outlets.

AFP reported earlier Monday that a Hamas source said the terror group was informed by mediators that Israel would pause military operations in Gaza for the handover of Alexander.

“Hamas was informed that at exactly 9:30 a.m., Israel began halting its reconnaissance, drone, and warplane flights, as well as combat operations, to create a safe corridor for the transfer and handover of Edan,” the source said.

Alexander is expected to be handed over by Hamas to Red Cross representatives Monday, who will bring him to Israeli forces inside Gaza. From there, he will be brought out of the Strip, and from there taken to a facility at the Re’im base.

At the IDF facility near Re’im, Alexander will receive an initial physical and mental checkup, and meet with members of his family who will be waiting there. He will then be airlifted to Sourasky Hospital in Tel Aviv.

In the event of a medical emergency, Alexander will be immediately taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba or Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, without passing through the Re’im site.

There was no word yet on where or when the handover will take place.

Alexander, a dual citizen who grew up in New Jersey, was serving in the IDF’s Golani Brigade at the time of his abduction. He was kidnapped from his base near the Gaza border community of Nirim, known as the White House post, during the October 7 onslaught.

In a statement, Hamas announced on Sunday its decision to release Alexander after recent talks with US officials and “intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the US informed it of Hamas’s intent to release Alexander “without compensation or conditions” and that the step is expected to lead to negotiations on a truce.

Netanyahu’s government was angered by US direct talks with Hamas earlier this year that led to a Hamas offer to release Alexander and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to a stalled ceasefire deal. Days later, however, Israel resumed the war.

US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff told AP that Hamas’s goal in releasing Alexander was to restart talks on a ceasefire, the release of additional hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza before Israel carries out a threatened total takeover of the territory.

Indirect talks between Hamas and the US began five days ago, an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas official told AP, with both describing the release of Alexander as a goodwill gesture.

Alexander will be the first male hostage soldier abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, to be returned to Israel by the terror group.

On October 7, Hamas took 19 male soldiers hostage — not all of them on duty — and seven female surveillance soldiers, the latter of whom have all since been returned to Israel (five in a deal with Hamas, one rescued alive, and the body of one recovered by troops.)

Currently, Hamas is holding 14 male Israeli soldiers hostage, eight of whom have been declared dead, among them the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014.

The apparent pause comes as Israel has been pushing ahead with its military operations in Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force struck over 50 targets in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the military said, including cells of terror operatives and buildings used by terror groups to plan and carry out attacks.

Additionally, the IDF said ground forces targeted a Hamas command center, caches of weapons, and sniper positions.

Hamas authorities reported 19 killed and dozens wounded during the previous 24 hours. The toll could not immediately be verified and did not differentiate between civilians and gunmen.

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