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"My Nimrod does not have foreign citizenship. He is 100% Israeli. He, too, deserves to come home," Vicky Cohen, whose son is held hostage in Gaza said on Monday after the announcement on Sunday that Hamas would release Edan Alexander, who holds American and Israeli citizenship.
So, are the hostages who have other passports worth more than those who are only citizens of Israel?
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Protesters call on Trump to bring about a hostage deal during a demonstration against the Netanyahu government
(Photo: Oded Balilty / AP)
Officially, Israel has refused to differentiate between hostages, but since the Hamas massacre of October 7, the dual citizenship of some of those who were abducted to Gaza had come up repeatedly. There are over 30 countries whose citizens are among the hostages, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Russia.
Their families have hoped that Hamas would show them mercy and perhaps even release them as a gesture to other countries and, in fact, there have been some such gestures made. The first was to Russian President Vladimir Putin with the release of Ron Krivoi, after more than 50 days in captivity in Gaza. Hamas said they also released Yelena Trufanov and her mother, Irena Tati as a gesture to the Russian leader, although they were freed along with the rest of the civilian women and children in the first hostage release deal in November 2023. Yelena's son, Alexander, was only released last February after nearly 500 days in captivity.
Hamas claimed Sacha's release was also a gesture toward Putin, who also took credit for the release and praised Hamas. Now the Russians are asking for the release of Maxim Herkin, a native of the Donbas region of Ukraine, to be freed as well. Thus far, to no avail.
Over the past months the United States has been conducting direct and indirect negotiations to bring about Edan Alexander's release and the return of the remains of four other Americans: IDF soldier Itai Chen, Judy Weinstein Hagai and her husband Gadi Hagai - who were both abducted from their home in Nir Oz, and Omer Neutra, an officer in the IDF.
Israel said in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office that Alexander's release was the result of military pressure on Hamas. A senior official said Hamas understood it must make a gesture to the Americans if it hoped to avoid an expansion of the IDF offensive on the Gaza Strip. "Hamas has thus far agreed to free most of the hostages, regardless of whether they hold dual nationality and we will continue to do the utmost to bring all of the captives home," the official said.
But Alexander was abducted as a soldier and Hamas would be holding on to the soldiers for as long as possible; therefore, had he not been an American citizen, his release would likely not have been agreed.
Israel could not have interfered in the American deal with Hamas, especially while it was not obliged to free any Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander. It can now do nothing but praise Trump for his efforts and success in bringing about the release of his own nationals.
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The United States regards the release on Monday as a starting point for negotiations for the release of all of the hostages under the framework of the Witkoff proposal.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that Edan Alexander's release exhibits what a determined leader who is committed to his people can do.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu, what of your commitment to the other 58 hostages?" the forum asked. "Will you choose to make history and bring all of them home to allow the country to begin to rehabilitate? Or will you continue to stall and avoid taking responsibility at the cost of destroying Israel's ethos? Now is the time for leadership."