TEL AVIV – For two days after Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was released from 19 months of captivity in Gaza, he couldn’t eat anything. Despite periods of near starvation while being held by Hamas militants, Alexander just didn’t have an appetite.

Then, his mother, Yael Alexander, put a burger and fries in front of him, and her son dove in.

It was one of many joyful moments his family has experienced since learning he would be freed.

Hamas portrayed the release of Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, as a gesture to President Donald Trump ahead of his Mideast tour last week, which the militants hoped would revive ceasefire talks. Instead, Israel launched a renewed offensive days later that families of the remaining hostages fear could put their loved ones in grave danger.

Alexander’s father was somewhat heartened by Israel’s announcement Monday that some aid was going into Gaza for the first time in 2 1/2 months.

“That’s the first step forward, so hopefully we’ll see another ceasefire, more releases and the end to this conflict,” Adi Alexander said. “It’s been too long, too much, and you can’t treat agony with more agony. It’s enough.”

He urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to “rise above politics to prioritize human life.”

Eight missed calls on Mother’s Day

The family had just finished celebrating Mother’s Day at their home in New Jersey when Adi Alexander saw eight missed calls from Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy. Witkoff told them to turn on the TV because Hamas was about to announce their son would be released.

“We were freaking out,” he said. The family raced to book flights to Israel. Alexander’s mother traveled with Trump’s hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler. His father and the couple’s other two children arrived just minutes before Edan Alexander crossed into Israel from Gaza.

Alexander was one of 251 people kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages alive and recovered more than 40 bodies.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The campaign has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population.

Moved between tunnels

The lowest point of his 584 days of captivity, Alexander told his parents, was being dragged into Gaza and pushed into a tunnel. For hours, he was held alone underground until 10 other hostages were thrust in with him.

That came as a relief. His father said his son’s biggest fear was being kidnapped alone, like an Israeli soldier captured in Gaza in 2006, who was held for years until he was released in a 2011 exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Edan Alexander told his parents he was kept mostly underground and moved frequently between tunnels with other hostages. There was very little food, and he rarely saw sunlight or was able to breathe fresh air. In the beginning, like many other male hostages, he was kept handcuffed, sometimes with a sack over his head, and interrogated.

The 6-foot-tall (180 cm) Alexander dropped to around 130 pounds (60 kilograms) from around 175 pounds (80 kilograms) before he was kidnapped.

The conditions of his son’s captivity improved slightly following Trump’s election in November, Adi Alexander said. During a weekslong ceasefire earlier this year, he was given meat and vegetables for the first time, but that ended once Israel reimposed the blockade on Gaza in March.

A family reunited with their son vows to keep fighting for others

Adi Alexander said the family is beyond grateful to Trump and the American officials who worked tirelessly to free their son. He lived in Maryland as a young child and graduated from high school in Tenafly, New Jersey. He moved to Israel in 2022 and volunteered for the Israeli army.

The day after Alexander’s release, American officials Boehler and Witkoff visited what’s come to be known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, meeting with families of those held in Gaza.

Hostage families said they left the meeting optimistic there would be more releases. But Trump ended a whirlwind trip through three Gulf countries without additional announcements, and Israel renewed its military campaign on Saturday, dashing hopes for immediate releases.

Alexander’s parents said as soon as they catch their breath the family will resume the fight to win the hostages’ release. They have been a constant presence at rallies, speaking with the media and politicians, shuttling between New Jersey, Washington and Israel. Alexander’s terminally-ill great-aunt managed to hold on until he was safe. She died just after hearing he was with the Red Cross, Yael Alexander said.

Moments of quiet as recovery begins

Edan Alexander returned weak and pale, but his parents say they see him gaining strength each day. The hamburger two days after his release was a turning point.

“I was sitting there and looking at him with this big smile on my face, and I’m like, oh my God, because he was like, craving the hamburger,” Yael Alexander said.

For now, Edan Alexander is back in the room in his grandmother’s apartment in Tel Aviv where he stayed during breaks from the army before his abduction.

He’s reconnected with some hostages, including Sagui Dekel Chen, an American-Israeli who was released during the previous ceasefire. He’s visiting with old friends from the army and New Jersey, squeezing in doctor’s appointments between hanging out with his siblings.

There are quiet moments that have stuck out to his mother over the past week, when he does normal things, like scrolling through Spotify. Seeing her three children together. Simply being able to touch him, hug him.

It’s a long path to recovery, but there are moments of bliss, like seeing him share a beer with his sister on the hospital rooftop. It was his first “legal” beer, since he turned 21 in captivity, a rite of passage since that’s the legal drinking age in the U.S.

“It was like, I’m here, I’m back, I have my sunglasses, I have a beer in my hand, and we are all good,” she said.

___

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war