Thousands from Edan Alexander's hometown of Tenafly, NJ, celebrate his release by Hamas: ‘He's coming home'
Welcome home, Edan.
Thousands of locals flooded the streets of Tenafly, New Jersey, on Monday to celebrate hometown hero Edan Alexander's long-overdue release from Hamas captivity — and his eventual homecoming.
'I haven't slept for two nights preparing for this,' Mali Oelsner, 45, one of the organizers of the celebration. 'This day is so important and so exciting for us. We were waiting 584 days for our community member, our beloved son of this community, to come back home.
'He volunteered to go to Israel and joined the IDF and he got kidnapped,' Oelsner told The Post. 'Now he's coming back home.'
5 Thousands gathered at Huyler Park in Tenafly, New Jersey Monday to celebrate the release of hostage Edan Alexander.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
5 Residents in Tenafly, New Jersey came out in force to celebrate Edan Alexander's release and return home.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
The crowd gathered at Tenafly's Huyler Park on Monday after word of the 21-year-old IDF staff sergeant's release came down over the weekend after he was captured by the terror group during a sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — one of 251 taken hostage.
More than 19 months later, Alexander was turned over to the Red Cross and crossed into Israeli territory.
The mood at the Tenafly park was rapturous with folks gathered around a giant screen broadcasting the news from Israel — Israeli flags were everywhere and locals danced to native music.
5 Edan Alexander, the last living American held hostage by Hamas, was captive for more than 19 months until now.
IDF Spokespersons Unit
5 Residents of Tenafly, New Jersey have been praying for the release of hometown hero Edan Alexander.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
'As a mother, I can only think about his mom and how she feels, and how hard it must have been for her and how happy she is today,' said Closter resident Leeron Mosayov, 50. 'Like her, I'm very, very happy today, and also very sad for the additional people who are suffering immensely.
'It feels good to be with the community, to be with people who all want the same thing,' she said. 'My husband was here at 5 a.m., I came here at 8. It feels good to be together. I had a need for that.'
Fellow Closter resident Shira Watermann said the wounds have not all healed following the deadly terror attack on Gaza that killed more than 1,200 — but at least there's finally something to celebrate.
5 Residents followed the news of Edan Alexander's release by Hamas on a big screen and waved Israeli flags.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
'It saddens me that it's only him,' said Watermann, 48. 'We're celebrating and everybody's happy and there's a lot of music, but it doesn't come without a side of us that's still so angry.
'I've been involved with a lot of the push to free the hostages, and this feels like the right place to be today,' she added. 'Finally we get our moment of happiness during a very, very difficult time.'
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