Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old who was released by Hamas militants on Monday after more than 19 months of captivity, was the last living hostage in Gaza who held US citizenship.
The dual US-Israeli national was 19 when he was taken hostage during Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Alexander was born in Israel's costal city of Tel Aviv before the family moved to the United States, where he was raised.
His father, Adi Alexander, described him in an interview with New Jersey newspaper NorthJersey as an "all-American kid".
Edan moved back to Israel as a young adult after graduating from high school in 2022.
He enlisted in military service and was deployed to the area near the Gaza Strip. On the day of the Hamas attack, the army position he was stationed in came under attack and he was taken hostage.
His family took a week to discover what had happened to him, Israeli media reports have said.
On the morning of the attack, his mother Yael Alexander tried to call him as thousands of rockets were launched from Gaza towards Israel.
By 7:00 am, less than an hour into the Hamas attack, her son had stopped answering text messages.
Edan Alexander has appeared in a video released by the Palestinian militant group more than a month ago. In comments apparently made under duress, he said he wished to be home for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
On April 15, Hamas said it had "lost contact" with the group holding him as a result of an Israeli air strike, before announcing on Sunday that he would be released.
Several days after Hamas's statement about the strike in April, Alexander's grandmother Varda Ben Baruch travelled to the Gaza border, along with relatives of other hostages, with a message for her grandson.
"Stay strong. We love you and we are doing everything we can to free you and for all hostages to go home", Ben Baruch said, according to a video published by the Hostage Families Forum campaign group.
"I might be tired, but I won't give up. Grandma doesn't give up on her grandson!"
Alexander's relatives described him as funny, warm and athletic, with his father telling NorthJersey he is a New York Knicks fan who likes spending time with friends.
Alexander has maintained a strong connection to Israel throughout his life, regularly visiting the country and celebrating his bar mitzvah -- the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony -- there, according to NorthJersey.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HOOK Desk and is published from a syndicated feed AFP.)
