Mother of freed hostage under fire for thanking Trump but not Netanyahu

Father of hostage still held in Gaza blasts mother of Edan Alexander for thanking US and hostage activist group while apparently snubbing Israeli leaders.

By World Israel News Staff

Yael Alexander, the mother of recently released ex-Gaza hostage Edan Alexander, came under fire on Tuesday after she declined to thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following her son’s return to Israel.

On Monday, Hamas freed the 23-year-old dual Israeli-U.S. citizen without any conditions, apparently as a goodwill gesture to the U.S. and in response to pressure from the Qatari government.

The Israeli government claimed the release was the result of pressure by the IDF on Hamas, including plans by Israel to seize and retain control of the entire Gaza Strip.

“This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination,” Netanyahu said.

On Tuesday, Yael Alexander made a public statement from her son’s hospital room in Tel Aviv, crediting the Trump administration for Edan’s release.

“I say that the return of Edan should be only the beginning of bringing back the rest of the hostages,” said Yael Alexander. “We have no time to wait. Time is running out, and the world is watching us.

“President Trump, Steve Witfkoff, and Adam Boehler worked day and night to bring back my son.”

She also thanked the Hostages and Missing Families Forum – an activist group representing many of the hostages’ families, which has organized protests calling for a cessation of the Gaza war in exchange for the release of the remaining captives – and supporters across Israel.

“Most of the public believes that bringing back the hostages is the most important goal, a national and Jewish goal,” Mrs. Alexander said. “It’s not about the political right or left, but about the human heart.”

However, Mrs. Alexander did not mention Netanyahu or the Israeli government in her comments, sparking criticism on social media and from the family of another hostage still in captivity.

“I read your words with great sorrow,” tweeted Tzvi Mor, the father of Eitan Mor, 24, who was taken hostage at the Nova music festival on October 7th while working as a security guard.

Tzvi is a member of the Tikva Forum, a more hawkish alternative to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“You thank the Americans, the Hostage Headquarters, the soldiers and commanders — but not the Government of Israel, thanks to which 196 hostages have been released so far. Even Witkoff attested that dear Edan was freed yesterday through the efforts of the prime minister.

“It seems that the criticism of the government and the ingratitude voiced by some returnees have not skipped over you either. Was someone briefing you here?

“One more thing: I wish you all the best in the U.S. But please, leave it to us — those who remain in the country and continue building the Zionist project — to determine our own priorities.

“And finally, you have no right to question our right to fight here for our future and for the remaining hostages who will not return without continued pressure on Hamas,” Mor concluded.

Former Jewish Home MK and conservative “The Patriots” show commentator Yinon Magal also accused Mrs. Alexander of “ingratitude,” while blaming the Israeli left for the “toxic” political climate dividing the country.

“Edan Alexander’s mother, in a repulsive display of ingratitude and lack of decency, does not thank the Prime Minister,” Magal tweeted. “Only in the toxic and deranged climate created here by the left and the media could something like this happen.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum slammed Magal’s comments in a post to X later on Tuesday night.

The group “wishes to embrace and support Edan and the Alexander family, who — after all they have been through — now find themselves this evening under a vicious attack, ironically from fellow Israelis on a program calling itself ‘The Patriots’.

“As Yael Alexander said tonight: ‘We choose unity, love of humanity, and commitment to the values we were raised on.’ Time is running out, the world is watching, and history will remember.”

Edan AlexanderHostages and Missing Families ForumYinon Magal