The IDF said on Monday afternoon that it was preparing in several ways for the return of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander.
The deal that will free Alexander was brokered between the US and Hamas. The Prime Minister's Office noted earlier that Israel succeeded in securing Alexander's release without any commitments to long-term ceasefire agreements with the terrorist group. It said this was due to the support of the United States and to the IDF's military pressure levied in the Gaza Strip.
The release is scheduled to take place between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's Middle East envoy, arrived in Israel earlier on Monday and was set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Once Alexander is secured by the Red Cross, the IDF will meet him at a special center in Re'im just outside the Gaza Strip, where he will receive immediate medical attention and will also be given a period of time to prepare himself to meet his family. This is similar to the protocol in previous hostage releases.
His family will wait for him there, along with a representative from the PMO, after which they will be flown to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for more in-depth medical care.
Emergency medical contingencies
Should Alexander require more immediate medical attention in Re’im, he will be evacuated either to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba or Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. Both are closer to Re'im than Ichilov.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.