Edan Alexander, returned Hamas hostage, talks with people during a ceremony turning a street name into "Edan Alexander Way" outside the municipal building in Tenafly on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.
Edan Alexander, returned Hamas hostage, delivers a speech during a ceremony turning a street name into "Edan Alexander Way" outside the municipal building in Tenafly on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.

President Donald Trump will meet Edan Alexander, the last remaining Israeli American hostage who was released from Hamas captivity, at the White House on Oct. 7, which marks the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Alexander, 21, who spent 584 days under captivity, is a dual Israeli-American citizen who grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel at age 19 to join the Israeli military after attending high school in Tenafly. He was among 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.

Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Alexander, which is slated for 3 p.m. ET, comes as talks are ongoing under Trump’s peace plan, which was introduced on Sept. 29, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 20-point peace proposal aims to see the release of all remaining Israeli hostages and for Israel to stop its bombing campaign of the enclave. About 50 hostages are still in Gaza, but only around 20 of them are thought to still be alive.

Alexander was born to Israeli parents, Adi and Yael, in Tel Aviv, but the family moved to the United States when he was a baby, first to Maryland, before settling in Tenafly, New Jersey, in 2008. His return to New Jersey was marked with great fanfare. Thousands of residents from Tenafly and surrounding towns lined the streets with flags and banners, gave him a hero's welcome, cheering as he rode through town in a motorcade.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff are in Egypt to finalize the details of the hostage release and the peace plan.

On Oct. 3, Trump followed up with an ultimatum to Hamas, saying that if they didn’t respond to the plan, they would be "hunted down, and killed." He also said the deal would "spare" the lives of the remaining "HAMAS FIGHTERS!"

"If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Oct. 3.

Trump also asked all "innocent Palestinians" to immediately leave the area, saying, "Everyone will be well cared for by those that are waiting to help."

That same day, Hamas said it agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of the plan, signaling readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

Trump immediately called on Israel to immediately stop its Gaza bombing campaign to secure the safe extraction of remaining hostages.

"Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!" Trump said on Truth Social. "Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that."

The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking 251 hostages. The death toll in the ensuing Israel-Hamas war has claimed the lives of more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Contributing: Deena Yellin, Kathryn Palmer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to meet Edan Alexander, last American hostage to be released from Hamas, on Oct. 7

Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect