Hamas led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to believe that it was interested in a deal for the return of captive Avera Mengistu and the remains of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, apparently as part of its deception in the lead-up to the October 7 massacres, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
According to the report, indirect talks which have been stuck for years ramped up in recent months, with Hamas seemingly signaling it was prepared for a deal. It does not say why captive Hisham al-Sayed, who like Mengistu has been held since 2015, was not part of the fake talks.
The report notes that Netanyahu’s office, particularly Military Secretary Avi Gil, were hoodwinked by the bogus negotiations, after no replacement was appointed for hostage talks point man Yaron Blum over a year ago.
The PMO declines to respond to Kan.
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