内容摘要：Pope Francis presides the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession celebrated in front of the Colosseum on Good Friday in Rome, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis presides the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession celebrated in front of the Colosseum on Good Friday in Rome, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Hostage families said they left the meeting optimistic there would be more releases. But Trump ended a whirlwind trip through three Gulf countries without additional announcements, and Israel renewed its military campaign on Saturday, dashing hopes for immediate releases.Alexander’s parents said as soon as they catch their breath the family will resume the fight to win the hostages’ release. They have been a constant presence at rallies, speaking with the media and politicians, shuttling between New Jersey, Washington and Israel. Alexander’s terminally-ill great-aunt managed to hold on until he was safe. She died just after hearing he was with the Red Cross, Yael Alexander said.

Yael and Adi Alexander, parents of freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was held captive by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, pose for a portrait in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)Yael and Adi Alexander, parents of freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was held captive by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, pose for a portrait in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)Edan Alexander returned weak and pale, but his parents say they see him gaining strength each day. The hamburger two days after his release was a turning point.

“I was sitting there and looking at him with this big smile on my face, and I’m like, oh my God, because he was like, craving the hamburger,” Yael Alexander said.For now, Edan Alexander is back in the room in his grandmother’s apartment in Tel Aviv where he stayed during breaks from the army before his abduction.

He’s reconnected with some hostages, including Sagui Dekel Chen, an American-Israeli who was released during the previous ceasefire. He’s visiting with old friends from the army and New Jersey, squeezing in doctor’s appointments between hanging out with his siblings.

There are quiet moments that have stuck out to his mother over the past week, when he does normal things, like scrolling through Spotify. Seeing her three children together. Simply being able to touch him, hug him.Neshat plays their teacher, a woman who loves rom-coms and English but who is unmoored, a foot in Iran and one in England, where she lived for many years but never completely felt at home.

“We don’t always belong to what we’re born to,” says Neshat. “She understands the potential of language and the potential of reaching beyond yourself. And yet she’s at a point in her life where she’s also losing a lot of that.”The play is packed with cultural references — like Christiane Amanpour, Hugh Grant and “Whenever, Wherever” by

One character admires Julia Roberts’ teeth, saying “They could rip through wire. In a good way.”“I feel like so often, when you’re telling stories about a different culture, especially in the Middle East, it’s like, ‘Well, we wanna see them behind the veil’ and ‘We want to see our idea of them.’ And I feel like, especially with my character, I feel it defies all of that. I feel she is romantic and flawed and complicated.”