Who Is Abigail Edan? 4-Year-Old American Hostage Freed by Hamas

Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl, is one of two American hostages released on Sunday as part of the landmark deal struck between Israel and Hamas.

Newsweek confirmed on Sunday that Edan had been released among 13 other Israeli hostages that have been held captive by Hamas who seized around 240 hostages in its attack on Israel on October 7. Edan, who recently celebrated her fourth birthday in captivity, is an Israeli-American girl whose parents were killed in the attack.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Newsweek on Sunday that 14 Israeli and three foreign national hostages have been transferred to the Red Cross, according to the information it has received from the humanitarian organization.

Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history on October 7. Israel in response subsequently launched its heaviest airstrikes against Gaza. As of Sunday, at least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli government. More than 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the AP said.

The Israeli government approved a truce agreement—brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt—on Wednesday to secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Under the deal, at least 50 Hamas hostages, all women and children who have been held captive for 46 days, are expected to be exchanged for about 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli detention centers. There will also be a temporary four-day ceasefire in Gaza that could be extended.

U.S. National Security Council officials told reporters in a briefing call on Tuesday that three American citizens are expected to be among the 50 hostages released, including Edan.

In a Sunday interview with NBC News' Meet The Press before Edan was released, national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about the hostage release deal and revealed, while he could not confirm, there is "reason to believe" at least one of the three American hostages will be released today.

"We hope Abigail Edan will be released. We think it's long past time that this little girl, celebrated her fourth birthday, is back home with her family. Of course she tragically lost her parents in this vicious, brutal terrorist attack on October 7, but back with other family members. I'm not in a position sitting here at this moment to confirm that, but I will tell you that this is unfolding as we speak and hopefully any hour now we will know which of the Americans is out. We have a sense of who it is," he said.

President Joe Biden said that Edan "has been through a terrible trauma" in remarks to reporters after her release. "What she endured was unthinkable," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment.

Meanwhile on Friday, a group of 13 Israeli hostages,10 Thai nationals and one Filipino citizen were released. And on Saturday, Hamas released a second group of hostages who were being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF told Newsweek on Saturday night that 17 hostages, 13 who were Israeli and four who were Thai, had been transferred to Israel where they would be taken to hospitals for observation and reunited with their loved ones.

According to CBS News on Wednesday, Edan's great-aunt, Liz Hirsh Naftali, said her family isn't sure whether or not she will be released, but hopes the emphasis on women and children means that the toddler, who is the youngest American being held, will come home.

"We have heard really nothing other than what people are hearing in the press, in the news. We are hoping and praying that she is in one of the first groups, but we only can know that's our hope," Naftali said.

Edan's cousin, Noa Naftali, also told CBS News that the child is being held in Gaza with neighbors from the Kfar Aza kibbutz, where she, her parents and her siblings lived.

"Abigail's mother was killed in front of her and her two older siblings," Noa Naftali said, adding that the toddler then ran outside to her father, who picked her up, but was "gunned down while holding her."

However, Edan's older siblings, 6 and 10, survived by locking themselves inside a closet for 14 hours, according to Noa Naftali.

"We thought at the beginning that Abigail had died, but we later found out that she survived. Her father was able to shield her with his body," Noa Naftali said. "She crawled out from underneath him and went over to the neighbors, who took her in, and they were also taken hostage — a mother, a 10-year-old, an 8-year old and a 4-year old who goes to preschool with Abigail."

Noa Naftali said Edan would stay with her aunt, uncle and grandparents, who are with her older siblings.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called Edan a "hero" in a Sunday press briefing after her release. Edan is a "hero and is a living example that the war against Hamas is uniquely justified," he said.

"This is a war against an evil and cruel enemy, and like Avigail, each and every one of the returned hostages has family or close ones who were murdered or are still being held hostage," Hagari said.

Update 11/26/23, 12:08 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include that Edan has now been freed.

Update 11/26/23, 12:43 p.m. ET: Comments from Biden were added.

Update 11/26/23, 3:23 p.m. ET: Comments from IDF spokesperson were added.

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