Hamas has announced it will release the man believed to be the last living U.S. citizen held hostage in Gaza, the group announced Sunday.

CAIRO − Hamas will release the Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander held in Gaza as a part of efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged enclave, a senior Hamas official told Reuters on May 11.

The deal to free Edan Alexander is part of a larger effort by the U.S.

Edan Alexander was 19 when Hamas militants stormed the Israeli military base where the American-Israeli from New Jersey was a soldier and dragged him into the Gaza Strip.

Freeing Alexander, believed to be the last surviving American hostage held by the militant Palestinian group, comes ahead of U.S. President Trump's visit to the Middle East this week.

Hamas on Tuesday (May 13) rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that military pressure had helped secure the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from Ga