US President Donald Trump on Sunday praised Hamas' announcement of its intention to release American-Israeli hostage Idan Alexander, calling the war in Gaza brutal.

"I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this historic news," Trump wrote in a social media post, describing the hostage's release as a "goodwill gesture."

"We hope this is the first of the final steps needed to end this brutal conflict," he added, expressing his hope for the release of all prisoners and an end to the fighting.

Hamas announced that dual Israeli-American citizen Idan Alexander would be released on Monday, following direct contacts Hamas had with the US administration over the past few days.

Hamas affirmed its readiness to immediately begin intensive negotiations and to exert serious efforts to reach a final agreement to cease the war and exchange prisoners by mutual consent. An independent, professional committee will govern the Gaza Strip, ensuring continued calm and stability for several years, along with reconstruction and an end to the blockade.

In the first US comment on Hamas' announcement, Trump's envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, said Hamas's decision to "release an American represents a positive step forward" and called on it to release the bodies of four other Americans.

These developments coincided with a report on Sunday that US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told the families of hostages held in Gaza that he disagreed with Israel's approach to the war in the Strip and believed a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement was the right next step. This comes amid mounting reports of a deepening rift between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government.

According to Israel's Channel 12, Witkoff told the families that the United States "wants to return the hostages, but Israel is not ready to end the war."

"Israel is prolonging the war, even though we don't see any room for further progress," Witkoff said, according to the report, which cited sources who attended the meeting, referring to Israel's inability to defeat Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.

"However, there is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will exploit," Witkoff told the families. "We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring back the hostages," he was quoted as saying. Channel 12 quoted the families as saying they had not heard this kind of criticism of Israeli government policy from Witkoff in the past.

The report, broadcast by the Israeli channel, also quoted unnamed senior Israeli officials warning: “If there are no agreements by the end of [US President Donald] Trump’s visit to the Middle East, Israel will launch a ground operation, and it will take several weeks to reach the next ‘exit point.’ Once we begin the intensive operation, we will not agree to stop it quickly. Hamas will not set a timetable.”

However, echoing Witkoff's aforementioned statements, officials agreed that there is currently a "window of opportunity," and stated that mediators are obligated to make this clear to Hamas, according to Channel 12.

The report stated that Israel is open to various proposals - including what Israel called "Witkoff's watered-down proposal" - but if Hamas continues to refuse to agree to a deal, there is "no alternative" to an intensive operation that will not end quickly.

It is noteworthy that what Israel calls the "Witkoff proposal" stipulates the release of approximately half of the living hostages in exchange for an extended truce, followed by the release of the remaining hostages along with an end to the war.

Experts believe that Netanyahu and the Israeli Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, face a clear embarrassment due to the release of Alexander through direct American negotiations with Hamas, without the knowledge or involvement of the Israeli government, and due to what appears to be a lack of concern for the remaining living Israeli captives, all of whom are soldiers because they hold no citizenship other than Israeli.