“My story does not end with survival; it continues with service,” he told the FIDF Gala in New York.
(Sept. 20, 2025 / JNS) In his first public remarks since his release four months ago, Hamas captivity survivor and Golani Brigade soldier Edan Alexander announced that he would return to Israel in October to resume his military service.
“My story does not end with survival; it continues with service,” said Alexander, 21, who was held for 584 days after being captured on Oct. 7, 2023, in an address to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) New York Gala on Wednesday night.
Alexander recounted his harrowing ordeal: “I served in the IDF and I was taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7. On that day, I fought alongside my brothers in arms against Hamas. And after I was taken, I fought every single day to survive in captivity, in the tunnels, in the darkness.”