By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An American-Israeli soldier taken captive and held for more than 19 months in the Gaza Strip is expected to be released on Monday, Hamas said, as part of a goodwill gesture for the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire between the warring sides.

Edan Alexander was snatched from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ cross-border terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza. His expected release would be the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March, when it unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Israel has also promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing the territory and displacing much of its population again. Before the ceasefire’s demise, Israel blocked all imports from entering the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis there and sparking warnings of a risk of famine if the blockade isn’t lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel’s terms.

Israel says that, including Alexander, 59 hostages remain in captivity, about 24 who are said to be alive and the remaining are deceased. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed in ceasefire deals.

Trump says the expected release is ‘hopefully’ a step toward ending the war

After announcing on Sunday its intention to release Alexander, Hamas said in a statement on Monday that the handover would occur later in the day. Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the timing of the release.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is set to arrive in the Middle East on Tuesday on his first official foreign trip, said Sunday that the planned release is “a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones.”

“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump, who is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is not scheduled to stop in Israel.

An Israeli official said that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Israel on Monday and would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet to discuss nuclear talks with Iran and efforts to free more hostages. The official spoke on condition to of anonymity in line with regulations.

Alexander’s family, which is based in the U.S., was on route to Israel, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the captives’ families.

Israel says it still plans to escalate its offensive in Gaza

On Monday, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said Alexander’s release was expected, without indicating timing, and that Israel was not granting any concessions for it.

The statement said Israel did not commit to a ceasefire or to free Palestinian prisoners as part of the release and that it had only agreed to create a “safe corridor” to allow for Alexander to be returned.

The statement said Israel would still carry on with its plans to ramp up its offensive in Gaza despite the expected hostage release. Israel says it won’t launch that plan until after Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week, to allow for a potential new ceasefire deal to emerge.

A statement by the office on Sunday said the U.S. had told Israel that Alexander’s release could lead to a new deal with Hamas to free more hostages.

Netanyahu faces criticism for not freeing all the hostages

Israel’s exact involvement in getting the release off the ground wasn’t immediately clear. But it created a backlash against Netanyahu, with critics accusing him of having to rely on a foreign leader to help free the remaining hostages.

At the opening of his trial for alleged corruption, where he is giving testimony, a woman in the courtroom asked whether he was “ashamed that the president of the United States is saving his citizens and he is leaving them to die there in captivity?”

Critics accuse Netanyahu of not doing enough to free the hostages, saying his insistence on keeping up the war in Gaza is politically motivated. Netanyahu says he aims to achieve Israel’s twin war goals, freeing the hostages and dismantling

Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 captive in the 2023 attack.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. It obliterated vast swaths of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

By JAMEY KEATEN, DAVID McHUGH, ELAINE KURTENBACH and KEN MORITSUGU, Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. and Chinese officials said Monday they had reached a deal to roll back most of their recent tariffs and call a 90-day truce in their trade war for more talks on resolving their trade disputes.

Stock markets rose sharply as the globe’s two major economic powers took a step back from a clash that has unsettled the global economy.

 

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points to 30%, while China agreed to lower its rate on U.S. goods by the same amount to 10%.

Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the tariff reductions at a news conference in Geneva.

The two officials struck a positive tone as they said the two sides had set up consultations to continue discussing their trade issues. Bessent said at the news briefing after two days of talks that the high tariff levels would have amounted to a complete blockage of each sides goods, an outcome neither side wants.

“The consensus from both delegations this weekend is neither side wants a decoupling,” Bessent said. “And what had occurred with these very high tariff … was an embargo, the equivalent of an embargo. And neither side wants that. We do want trade.”

“We want more balanced trade. And I think that both sides are committed to achieving that.”

The delegations, escorted around town and guarded by scores of Swiss police, met for at least a dozen hours on both days of the weekend at sun-baked 17th-century villa that serves as the official residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

At times, the delegation leaders broke away from their staffs and settled into sofas on the villa’s patios overlooking Lake Geneva, helping deepen personal ties in the effort to reach a much-sought deal.

China’s Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to cancel 91% in tariffs on each other’s goods and suspend another 24% in tariffs for 90 days, bringing the total reduction to 115 percentage points.

The ministry called the agreement an important step for the resolution of the two countries’ differences and said it lays the foundation for further cooperation.

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“This initiative aligns with the expectations of producers and consumers in both countries and serves the interests of both nations as well as the common interests of the world,” a ministry statement said.

China hopes the U.S will stop “the erroneous practice of unilateral tariff hikes” and work with China to safeguard the development of their economic and trade relations, injecting more certainty and stability into the global economy, the ministry said.

The joint statement issued by the two countries said China also agreed to suspend or remove other measures it has taken since April 2 in response to the U.S. tariffs.

China has increased export controls on rare earths including some critical to the defense industry and added more American companies to its export control and unreliable entity lists, restricting their business with and in China.

The full impact on the complicated tariffs and other trade penalties enacted by Washington and Beijing remains unclear. And much depends on whether they will find ways to bridge longstanding differences during the 90-day suspension.

But investors rejoiced as trade envoys from the world’s two biggest economies blinked, finding ways to pull back from potentially massive disruptions to world trade and their own markets.

Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 2.6% and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2%. Oil prices surged more than $1.60 a barrel and the U.S. dollar gained against the euro and the Japanese yen.

“This is a substantial de-escalation,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. But he warned “there is no guarantee that the 90-day truce will give way to a lasting ceasefire.”

Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, welcomed the news but expressed caution. The tariffs only were suspended for 90 days and there is great uncertainty over what lies ahead, he said in a statement.

“Businesses need predictability to maintain normal operations and make investment decisions. The chamber therefore hopes to see both sides continue to engage in dialogue to resolve differences, and avoid taking measures that will disrupt global trade and result in collateral damage for those caught in the cross-fire,” Eskelund said.

Trump last month raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145% and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125% levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the two countries boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped $660 billion.

The announcement by the U.S. and China sent shares surging, with U.S. futures jumping more than 2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged nearly 3% and benchmarks in Germany and France were both up 0.7%

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide, but its fight with China has been the most intense. Trump’s import taxes on goods from China include a 20% charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.

McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany, Kurtenbach from Mito, Japan, and Moritsugu from Beijing.

The names of three Minnesota police officers killed in the line of duty last year have been engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. and they’ll be remembered in ceremonies this week.

Burnsville Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matt Ruge were fatally shot by a suspect during a standoff, while multiple children were in the home, in February 2024. Burnsville Firefighter/Paramedic Adam Finseth also lost his life in the incident.

In Minneapolis, Officer Jamal Mitchell was shot in killed last May.

More than 160 Burnsville officers and family members traveled to D.C. “with generous donations” from Burnsville residents, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Burnsville Police and Fire Foundations and donors across the country, according to a statement from Burnsville police.

Photos of Burnsville police officers, from left, Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth are displayed during a community vigil Feb. 20, 2024, at the Burnsville Police Department/City Hall. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)

“Paul and Matt were incredible police officers who worked tirelessly to keep our community safe,” Burnsville Police Chief Tanya Schwartz said in a statement. “They were dedicated officers, teammates and friends to everyone who served alongside them. They saved the lives of seven children that tragic day and their sacrifices will never be forgotten, their lives will always be remembered, and their spirit will live on in our department and our community.”

Surrounding police departments are working in Burnsville for officers while they’re attending the memorial. Allowing Burnsville officers to gather “as part of a larger police family is an important part of grieving, healing, and remembering,” Schwartz said.

National Police Week

Mitchell, Ruge and Elmstrand are among 148 officers who died in the line of duty in  2024 and whose names were added to the memorial, along with 197 names from previous years. They are being recognized during National Police Week.

In D.C., there will be a candlelight vigil at the memorial at 7 p.m. CST Tuesday. Livestreaming links can be found at nleomf.org/events.

In Minnesota, the St. Paul Police Department will hold its annual Memorial Day service at noon Wednesday; it’s usually held in Mears Park but will be at the Minnesota Peace Officers Memorial on the state Capitol grounds this year.

Also at the state memorial site, the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association will host its annual service at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Finseth was memorialized at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland on May 3 and May 4, and his name was unveiled at the memorial there.

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Today is Monday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2025. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 12, 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan province left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

Also on this date:

In 1780, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces in one of the worst American defeats of the Revolutionary War.

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In 1846, the pioneers of the Donner Party left Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail, beginning their ill-fated attempt to migrate to California.

In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.

In 1933, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration established both the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which provided federal funding to states for relief programs, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which provided economic support to farmers through agricultural surplus reductions.

In 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.

In 1975, members of the new Khmer Rouge-led Cambodian government seized an American merchant ship, the SS Mayaguez, in international waters, sparking a three-day battle that resulted in the deaths of 41 Americans.

In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope’s longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the assault.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk is 90.
Musician Steve Winwood is 77.
Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 75.
Actor Gabriel Byrne is 75.
Singer Billy Squier is 75.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Karl is 74.
Country musician Kix Brooks is 70.
Actor Ving Rhames is 66.
Actor-filmmaker Emilio Estevez is 63.
Chef/TV personality Carla Hall is 61.
Actor Stephen Baldwin is 59.
Skateboarder Tony Hawk is 57.
Actor Kim Fields is 56.
Actor Rhea Seehorn is 53.
Actor Malin Akerman is 47.
Actor Jason Biggs is 47.
Actor Rami Malek is 44.