Israel offers Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar 'safe passage' out of Gaza in exchange for hostage release

An Israeli official offered safe passage for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar out of Gaza in return for the release of all Israeli hostages still being held in the Palestinian enclave, according to reports.

Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s official point person on efforts to free the captives held since 7 October, told the news outlet Bloomberg that Israel is "ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, whoever wants to join him".

"We want the hostages back," he added. "We want demilitarisation, de-radicalization of course - a new system that will manage Gaza."

Hirsch claims he presented the proposal to Hamas on Sunday but did not comment on any response from the Palestinian movement, which controls Gaza, or its mediators in ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions have held 101 Israelis captive since 7 October, although 35 have been declared dead, while another 154 have been released in exchange for freeing Palestinians detained by Israel. Thousands more Palestinian captives remain behind bars.

The Israeli official is currently visiting Washington and on Sunday told CNN that Hamas releasing the hostages would lead to a ceasefire.

"We will agree to build safe passage to the chief terrorist, the new Hitler, Sinwar – safe passage to him and whoever he wants to join him out of Gaza… if Hamas release the hostages, the war can come to an end," he said.

Israel claims that Sinwar, in his capacity as then-leader of Hamas in Gaza, was the chief architect of the group’s surprise attack on 7 October.

Sinwar became the effective head of Hamas following Israel's assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

Hamas - via mediators Egypt and Qatar - has agreed to two deals, most notably the one presented by Joe Biden in May, which would see the release of all Israeli hostages but a sticking point has been Israel’s lack of a commitment to a permanent ceasefire and its insistence on occupying the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Hirsch’s offer to Sinwar comes amid increasing domestic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including mass protests demanding an immediate truce in Gaza, to ensure the safe release of the remaining captives.

On Tuesday, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani met representatives of the families of Israeli hostages in Paris, who are said to be outraged by Netanyahu’s rejectionist stance in negotiations.

During the three-hour meeting, organised by President of the World Jewish Congress Ron Lauder and also attended by Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, Al-Thani vowed that he would continue to promote negotiations between Hamas and Israel to end the war on Gaza and return all captives.