Update for 20:00
The IDF said: Returning soldier Idan Alexander arrived at the initial absorption point in the Gaza encirclement area
Officials from the IDF's Human Resources Department and medical officials are accompanying the returning soldier Idan Alexander, and he will undergo an initial medical evaluation and meet with his family.
IDF representatives are accompanying the rest of his family members waiting at the hospital and providing them with regular updates.
The IDF has completed preparations to capture kidnapped Idan Alexander.
Idan is expected to be released following direct contacts between the United States and Hamas. From absorption by the bad guys – to Ichilov
(haipo) – Idan Alexander, the kidnapped soldier with dual Israeli and American citizenship, is expected to be released today (Monday, 12/5/25) from Hamas, following direct contacts that the United States had with the organization's leadership. The IDF said that preparations for his absorption have been completed. According to the plan, Alexander will first be brought for initial medical and security absorption at the Re'im base in the surrounding area, and from there he will be transferred to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.
Over the past few months, the Americans have been in contact, both directly and indirectly, with Hamas, with the aim of securing Alexander's release and the return to Israel of four hostages who were killed during the events, all of whom had American citizenship.
From New Jersey to the Golani Brigade
Alexander, who is apparently the last living abductee who holds American citizenship, grew up in the town of Tenapaley, New Jersey, and at the age of 18 immigrated to Israel alone with the goal of volunteering for combat service in the IDF. He served as a fighter in the Golani Brigade, lived at his grandparents' house in Tel Aviv and at Kibbutz Hatzor, which hosted the nucleus of lone soldiers he joined.
Idan was kidnapped on Saturday morning, October 7, the day Hamas launched its deadly terror attack in the south. That weekend, he was not obligated to stay at the base, as his mother, Yael, was visiting Israel, and as a lone soldier, he was entitled to special leave to spend time with her. Despite this, he chose to stay at the base so as not to burden his teammates with the burden of guarding. During the attack, he managed to talk to his mother, informing her that a shrapnel had hit his helmet but that he himself was unharmed, and then the connection was cut off.
Many of his family members, comrades-in-arms, and entire communities in Israel and the United States are looking forward to the imminent release of Idan Alexander, hoping that this will be the beginning of a path to the release of the remaining hostages and the end of the war.
Fishel Kadosh wrote:
Two months ago, Adam Buhler tried to secure the release of the American hostage, but with a generous Israeli payment: hundreds of senior Hamas prisoners plus a series of political benefits, and Israel thwarted the move.
Today Alexander returns "for free", even without the release of prisoners.
On the face of it, a huge achievement for Israel. However, the media party is in trouble: How do you digest a victory for Netanyahu and his stubborn moves?
The solution: Turn the resounding victory into a humiliating defeat: "Trump closed a deal without Israel," and after all, "without Israel" is the achievement.
This is the power of the media, to turn good into evil, victory into defeat, achievement into disgrace (in the short days of the Lapid-Bennett government, everything was of course the other way around).
The method has been known for years: the cricket choir sings one song: "Failure," "Trump Betrayed Israel," and the recurring refrain (which has been repeated for 30-20 years): "Bibi is guilty."
How many innocent buyers, a bunch of crazy garbage, a happy son of a bitch.
It doesn't matter that the White House spokeswoman, "Shamil" Witkoff, and even Adam Buhler say that the latest moves are "taking Israeli-US relations to a new peak" (Buhler on the plane).
Then, when the celebration is over, it turns out that the opposite happened: a huge achievement. A hostage was released without Israeli payment and they start talking about what Israel offered Hamas a month after October 7.10: disarming Hamas, the withdrawal of the terrorist arch-state from Gaza, the establishment of a government that is neither Hamas nor the PA.
But don't worry, here too they will return to the refrain: "Another failure for Bibi."
The same thing in Iran.
And what's good about the story?
In the end, after the choir finishes, the public begins to understand.
Until the next scam.
Joy mixed with frustration.
Instead of going with Trump's initial grand plan and opening the gates of hell and voluntarily relocating 1.7 million Gazans back to their countries of origin, they lingered here and gave again and again to those who should not even be spoken to and should have been eliminated long ago.
And hopefully this will happen soon and all the kidnapped will return in a complete Israeli victory and the conquest of the Strip.
The occupation of the Gaza Strip is not for settlement purposes but for the imposition of American rule, as proposed by the American president.
This is when the President of the United States intervenes. If it were up to our pathetic government, he would still be there.