Hamas on Monday released 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, who had been held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months.

The hostage release was the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Alexabder was handed over to the Red Cross and then to Israeli forces before being flown by helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv.

The hostage’s extended family gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the release. They chanted his name when the military said he was free, while in the city’s Hostage Square, hundreds of people broke out into cheers.

Alexander’s grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, beamed. She said her grandson looked mostly all right in the first photo of him after nearly 600 days in captivity.

“He seemed like a man. He has really matured,” she said. Reports that Alexander cracked a joke on the phone while speaking to his mother for the first time did not surprise her. “He’s got such a sense of humor,” she said.

Alexander was 19 when he was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza.

In his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, hundreds of supporters packed the streets, holding signs with his image and listening to speakers blasting Israeli music. As they watched the news of his release on a large screen, the crowd hugged and waved Israeli flags. Since he was taken hostage, supporters there gathered every Friday to march for the hostages’ release.

Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with about 23 of them said to be alive. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed in ceasefire deals.

Hamas announced its intention to release Alexander shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to arrive Tuesday in the Middle East on the first official foreign trip of his second term.

Trump on Sunday called the planned release “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 social media.