Released Israeli-American captive announces return to army to resume role in Gaza genocide

A former Israeli-American captive has announced that he will rejoin the Israeli army to take part in the regime’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, which has already claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives.

Edan Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen who was released by the Gaza-based Hamas resistance group in May, declared that “serving the regime’s military is one of the greatest honors of my life” during a so-called Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) event in the United States earlier this week.

"Next month I will return to Israel and once again wear my [Israeli army] uniform, serving proudly alongside my brothers. My story doesn't end with survival – it continues with service. Until victory,” Alexander said at the FIDF event in New York City.

The FIDF, a US-based charity that supports Israeli soldiers, is involved in funding emergency medical supplies and mental health treatment to Israelis wounded in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"I was taken captive by Hamas on October 7, 2023. That day I fought alongside my brothers in arms against Hamas…I was held captive for 584 days,” the ex-captive stated.

Alexander called for US efforts to press Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet to resume negotiations on a truce deal in Gaza and a captive-prisoner agreement.

Alexander was freed as part of a goodwill gesture by Hamas to advance ceasefire-prisoner exchange talks and open the way for urgently needed humanitarian aid to the blockaded enclave.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Israelis slam Netanyahu over ‘abandoning’ captives as talks with Hamas stall

Israeli families have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “abandoning” captives held in Gaza and failing to secure a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

In the historic operation, Hamas captured 251 Israelis, 58 of whom now remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the occupation’s army and 20 believed to be alive. 

The captive's families have repeatedly warned that Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza endangers those in captivity, calling for an end to the regime’s aggression and a “comprehensive deal” that would secure their immediate release.

In January, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas led to the release of several Israeli captives and Palestinian abductees held illegally in the regime's jails. 

However, Israel refused to extend the deal as initially planned. The regime intensified its military assaults on Gaza and shattered the 2-month-long truce.

Dozens of the captives have already been killed in Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory, and the regime's imposed starvation is now further endangering those still in captivity.

Israel's bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed more than 65,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured some 167,000 others.

Thousands of victims are also feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to relentless Israeli attacks.

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