Israel has offered to secure the safety of Hamas chief and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar in exchange for the remaining hostages in Gaza, an Israeli official said.
Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for hostages and the missing, claimed a promise to ensure Sinwar’s safe exit from Gaza was put forth earlier this week in the strained cease-fire negotiations with Hamas.
“I’m ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, whoever wants to join him,” he told Bloomberg.
“We want the hostages back. We want demilitarization, de-radicalization of course — a new system that will manage Gaza,” he added.
The claim comes after Hirsch made similar remarks in a CNN interview on Sunday, saying the Jewish state will “build [a] safe passage to the chief terrorist, the new Hitler, Sinwar.”
It remains unclear if Hamas has responded to the offer, with the terror group’s negotiation team meeting with Egypt and Qatari mediators on Wednesday.
The terror group said in a statement that it is not open to accepting any new conditions in the cease-fire negotiations, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that the IDF maintain control of the Philadelphi Route.
Hamas could, however, be open to the new condition, which Sinwar allegedly pitched himself last month.
Sinwar, who rose to the top of Hamas following the assassination of former chief Ismail Haniyeh in July, allegedly claimed that if Israel could agree to ensure his safety, a cease-fire deal would be possible.
The Hamas chief’s safe exit from the war, however, would undermine the IDF’s repeated promise to hunt him down and eliminate him.
Sinwar was last seen fleeing through Gaza’s complex tunnel network with his family on Oct. 10, according to reports.
