Trump can help free the rest by keeping pressure on the terrorists in Gaza.
After 583 days in Hamas captivity, Edan Alexander of Tenafly, N.J., walked free Monday. With his release, secured through the mediation of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the threat of an impending Israeli offensive, no Americans remain among the 20 hostages believed to be alive in Gaza.
Mr. Alexander was 19 when Hamas took him. He’s now 21. His release is a U.S. victory and the way Mr. Trump wanted to kick off his Middle East trip this week. Hamas, which still holds the corpses of four U.S. citizens for ransom, presents the move as a gesture of good will.
The truth is the terrorists are running out of time. The deadline set by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Hamas to free hostages before Israel launches an offensive, to clear and hold territory, is the end of the Trump trip. Israel delayed for the President, but once it advances, it is determined not to withdraw.
Joe Biden wouldn’t have stood for this Israeli action, but Hamas knows Mr. Trump would. By giving the President a gift for his trip, the terrorists hope to scramble the Israeli timetable. Hamas tried something similar on May 6, 2024, the day of Israel’s Rafah invasion, by claiming suddenly to accept an Arab cease-fire proposal. It turned out to be illusory.
The group’s latest move has sparked new negotiations, but Mr. Trump isn’t obliged to make Hamas’s dreams for the talks come true. Let the terrorists accept the offer on the table.
That would be the Witkoff framework, which Israel accepted March 2. It calls for the ransoming of 10 hostages on the deal’s first day, paid for with a cease-fire and release of terrorists, then negotiations to end the war and ransom the rest. So far Hamas has said no.
As in January, new pressure on Hamas now has a chance to free hostages, as Israel is poised to act on Mr. Trump’s pledge of “hell to pay.” The obstacle is Hamas’s hope, kindled by the rising influence of its Qatari patrons, that Mr. Trump will suddenly adopt the Biden approach and turn on Mr. Netanyahu in the clutch.
Rather than fly Mr. Alexander to Qatar to meet Mr. Trump, as the Trump team has proposed, why doesn’t the President add a stop in Israel to celebrate Mr. Alexander’s freedom? Hamas would get the message.