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Hamas released the last living American hostage Monday, after he spent more than 580 days in captivity inside the Gaza Strip. 

Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, will be received by a specialized Israel Defense Forces unit and is going to be brought to an initial reception facility in Re’im, where he will undergo preliminary medical and psychological evaluation by IDF Medical Corps personnel, an Israeli official told Fox News. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that President Donald Trump “is fighting to secure the release of every American detained abroad” and “We won’t stop until this conflict is over and all our hostages are home.”

Trump, who is slated to depart Washington, D.C., on Monday for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, said prior to Alexander’s release that it was “great news.” Israel said its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting Monday with Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Netanyahu then called Trump today and thanked him for his assistance in securing Alexander’s freedom.

HAMAS CLAIMS IT WILL RELEASE AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER 

Alexander’s family will await him at the Re’im facility, accompanied by their assigned officer from the Missing Persons and Hostages Headquarters. After the initial reunion, Edan and his family will be airlifted to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for continued care, the official also told Fox News. 

As an IDF soldier, Alexander also will be provided with a comprehensive support framework, including medical, psychological, and logistical assistance, facilitated by military professionals. 

Hamas first claimed on Sunday that it would release Alexander. 

“As part of the efforts made by the brotherly mediators to achieve a ceasefire, Hamas has been in contact with the U.S. administration in recent days,” the terrorist organization said. “The movement has shown a high level of positivity, and the Israeli soldier with dual American citizenship, [Edan] Alexander, will be released as part of the steps being taken toward a ceasefire, the opening of border crossings, and the entry of aid and relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.” 

Alexander’s mother Yael said on Thursday that she was feeling “[s]uch sadness and agony not knowing what the fate of your son is.  

“I have not been able to sleep. I am stuck in Oct. 7, even though it’s been 580 days. I used to enjoy Mother’s Day so much. We would all go to the city to a special restaurant, and I insisted the kids write me letters on this day. I have not been able to celebrate anything since this nightmare began,” she added. 

ISRAELI MINISTER SAYS GAZA WILL BE ‘ENTIRELY DESTROYED,’ PALESTINIANS FORCED INTO OTHER COUNTRIES 

Then President-elect Donald Trump is shown photos of Edan Alexander by his mother Yael Alexander at Ohel Chabad Lubavitch on Oct. 07, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for military service in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv and at Kibbutz Hazor, where he was part of a group of lone soldiers. 

He was kidnapped on the morning of October 7 – a Saturday when he wasn’t required to remain on base. His mother was visiting from abroad, and like many lone soldiers he had the option to go home for the weekend. He chose to stay, not wanting to leave his fellow soldiers short-staffed on guard duty. 

Ayelet Samerano, the mother of hostage Yonatan Samerano, said Monday that the previous day was Mother’s Day, and how “[a]round the world, mothers celebrated with their children.”

Israelis gather to watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander to be released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, on Monday, May 12.  (AP/Oded Balilty)

“But for me – and the other mothers of the 59 hostages – it was just another day of nightmare. Yes, I am happy for the Alexander family. They will finally have their son Edan back. I thank President Trump and Steve Witkoff for this progress,” she added. “But President Trump – please don’t stop. This is only the first step. Do whatever is necessary to bring every last one home. The other 58 hostages have no time left. They are in hell. The living could be killed any day. The deceased – their bodies could be lost forever. They must all come home.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Roberta Metsola flew together on a private plane from Brussels to attend an event in Luxembourg last week, an extraordinary, high-cost decision made due to scheduling constraints between the three presidents, a spokesperson for the Commission said today.

The trio were expected to appear jointly in the city to commemorate Europe Day.

The trip took place on Friday and saw the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament visit the Robert Schuman house, accompanied by Luxembourgish Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

The rationale for flying rather than driving to Luxembourg – roughly 200 km from Brussels – was mainly prompted by the appearance of Friedrich Merz, the new Chancellor of Germany, in the Belgian capital.

Merz chose Europe Day to make his first visit to Brussels since taking office. He met separately with Costa, von der Leyen and Metsola, in that order, and held press conferences with Costa and von der Leyen, taking questions from journalists.

The bilateral meetings stretched over the entire morning, leaving the three presidents with an extremely tight itinerary to move to Luxembourg City and attend the commemorative event, pencilled for early afternoon, at the same time.

The teams in Brussels then chose to ditch the car option and resort to air charter, the costs of which were shared among the three institutions.

“Due to the scheduling constraints of the three presidents and the prime minister, the only travelling option to allow all of them to attend the commemoration of the Schuman Declaration together and on time was to take a charter flight,” Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, said on Monday.

“This is the reason why, exceptionally, this was the option taken to get there.”

The offices of Costa and Metsola voiced a similar message.

The event in Luxembourg, hosted at the prime minister’s invitation to mark the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, started in the early afternoon and lasted about two hours. The four leaders visited the house where Robert Schuman, the French politician who delivered the declaration on 9 May 1950, grew up.

Schuman’s proposal to create a new authority to manage the production of coal and steel from France and West Germany paved the way for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and kick-started the project of European integration.

Luxembourg was one of the six founding members of the ECSC and served as host of the independent High Authority, the precursor of the European Commission. During Friday’s trip, the four leaders also visited the old seat of the High Authority.

Once the event was over, von der Leyen and Costa returned to Brussels using the rented plane while Metsola and her team flew commercial to Cyprus.

Although air flights are frequent for long-distance travel, using the same option for such a short-distance trip is likely to raise eyebrows, given the EU’s commitment to sustainability and the pressure from member states to control expenses.