Tensions between Israel and the US are escalating with Israeli ministers criticizing President Donald Trump’s administration for securing the release of Israeli American soldier Edan Alexander from Hamas without coordinating with Tel Aviv, local media reported Monday.
Israel’s Channel 13 said that despite efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to portray healthy ties with Washington, relations are growing increasingly strained daily.
The ministers sharply criticized Trump over the deal with the Palestinian group to release Alexander, according to the channel.
Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting Sunday evening with security chiefs and select ministers after Trump announced the agreement, the channel reported.
During the meeting, he described the US move as “the administration’s way of pressuring for a broader deal.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said “if they bypass us, we must ensure no commitments are made on our behalf to Hamas.”
Later Monday, Hamas announced Alexander’s release, and the Israeli military confirmed that it had received him from the Red Cross and transferred him to Israel.
“I spoke with President Trump today. He said ‘I am committed to Israel, to continuing to work with you in close cooperation’ in order to achieve all of our war objectives: Releasing all of the hostages and defeating Hamas,'” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement.
He credited Alexander’s release to Israel’s military pressure combined with Trump’s diplomatic efforts, calling it a “a winning combination.”
Alexander, a dual US Israeli citizen, was released through US-led negotiations with Hamas via mediators entirely without Israel’s knowledge or involvement, according to Israeli media reports.
Separately, Channel 13 cited an unnamed Israeli official who said the likelihood of expanding combat in Gaza has diminished due to US pressure on Israel to exhaust hostage-swap negotiations.
“Edan Alexander’s release creates momentum, and we are trying to seize opportunities in the coming days,” the official added.
Channel 12 said that “Washington did not involve Israel in the talks it conducted to secure a deal with Hamas for Alexander’s release.”
Israel received indications of the deal as early as Friday, but these came from unofficial sources, the channel added.
On Sunday morning, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, contacted Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who leads Israel’s negotiating team, to inform them of the finalized US-Hamas agreement for Alexander’s release, according to Channel 12.
Witkoff presented the information to Netanyahu and Dermer as a final decision.
The channel, citing two unnamed Israeli sources, revealed that Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned during a closed meeting last week that “we must be cautious of the possibility that the US is orchestrating a move we’re unaware of, in preparation for President Trump’s visit.”
The Israeli military declined to comment on the statement attributed to Zamir.
The US, alongside mediators in Egypt and Qatar, is pushing for a hostage exchange and ceasefire in Gaza. An Israeli negotiating team is set to travel to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday to discuss such an agreement.
The developments coincide with Trump’s first Middle East trip since starting his second term in January, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13-16.
Israel estimates that 58 Israeli captives remain in Gaza, including 21 who are still alive.
Meanwhile, more than 9,900 Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons, where they face torture, starvation and medical neglect—conditions that have led to multiple deaths, according to reports by Palestinian and Israeli media and human rights organizations.
Nearly 52,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.