Tenafly’s streets erupt as ex Hamas hostage Edan Alexander finally comes home | WATCH

The community of Tenafly, New Jersey, poured into the streets on June 19, 2025, to welcome home 21-year-old Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli freed after 584 days as a Hamas hostage. Waving American and Israeli flags and holding handmade signs, hundreds cheered as Alexander, escorted by police, returned to the town that rallied tirelessly for his release.

Alexander, a Tenafly High School graduate and former IDF lone soldier, was abducted on October 7, 2023, during Hamas’ attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Stationed with the Golani Brigade near Gaza, the then-19-year-old was taken from his base and endured hunger, torture, and confinement in underground tunnels. Hamas released propaganda videos showing a gaunt Alexander pleading for his life.

Freed on May 12, 2025, through ceasefire negotiations brokered by the Trump administration, Alexander was the last living American hostage held by Hamas. In a phone call, he thanked President Donald Trump for his role in securing the deal. After reuniting with his family at Israel’s Reim Military Base and recovering in Tel Aviv, Alexander and his mother, Yael, left Israel on a U.S. evacuation flight on June 18 amid escalating regional tensions.

Tenafly, with deep ties to Israel, celebrated Alexander’s return with emotion. “Edan’s return is the return of everybody’s child,” resident Orly Chen told CBS News. Rabbi Yitzchak Gershovitz called him “our brother,” and Rabbi Mordechai Shain planned a prayer quorum to bless his redemption. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said, “After 584 days of torment, Jersey’s own Edan Alexander is home,” while urging Hamas to release the bodies of two American hostages still in Gaza.

Alexander, who moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for the IDF, now faces a long recovery from the physical and psychological toll of captivity.

Photo Credit: Liri Agami/Flash90