Shin Bet chief heads to Cairo as Israel said seeking to end Gaza war with hostage deal
Gallant convenes security officials to discuss hostages ahead of security cabinet meeting; officials say little progress can be made until latest round of escalation with Iran ends
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited Cairo on Sunday to discuss the attempted revival of hostage deal negotiations after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel.
Sinwar, who was seen as a major obstacle to a hostage deal, was killed Wednesday in an encounter with IDF troops operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
His death has sparked hopes of a renewed opportunity to revitalize the long-stalled negotiations for the release of 101 hostages held by Hamas and for an end to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian terror group that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble over the past 12 months.
Bar met with Egypt’s newly appointed intelligence chief, Hassan Rashad, Channel 12 reported, after his predecessor Abbas Kamel was abruptly reassigned last week to serve as a special adviser to President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
Bar was said to have last met with Kamel to discuss stalled hostage negotiations on October 14, before Sinwar was killed. According to reports at the time, the meeting did not lead to any breakthroughs.
This time, however, Channel 12 reported that Israel had indicated to the US in recent days that it was ready to make concessions in some areas that previously were not considered up for debate.
The report did not elaborate on what the concessions could entail.
An Israeli official told the Times of Israel on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was looking for an opportunity to wrap up the war with a hostage deal, as the relatives of many of the hostages have urged him to do.
The official said that Israel was planning to use Sinwar’s body, which was transferred to a secret location inside Israel after it was autopsied on Thursday night, as “another bargaining chip” in the negotiations.
“We will use a range of levers to pressure Hamas, both military and diplomatic,” said the official.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to confirm the report, and instead said that Israel “will not end the war until we achieve all of our goals.”
“We are continuing to pressure Hamas militarily,” a PMO official said. “You can see the effects in Jabaliya. We are continuing to kill Hamas members. We are pushing for a psychological collapse.”
The PMO official added that once that happens, there may be a possibility of smaller, separate deals with different factions of Hamas.
As Bar sought to revive talks with mediating party Egypt, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with senior security officials in Israel on Sunday night to discuss the issue of the hostages, and opportunities for their release, ahead of a scheduled security cabinet meeting.
Gallant was joined by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi; Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir; IDF hostage negotiator Major Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon; Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk; Military Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder; and Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, the head of the IDF’s Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, as well as several other senior officials.
The security cabinet meeting itself was primarily set to deal with Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month, the drone attack on Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea on Saturday, and updates on the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.
Ministers were also to discuss opportunities for progress on a hostage deal, an Israeli security source told The Times of Israel.
However, the planned response to the Iranian missile attack may itself complicate the opportunity for a hostage deal. Citing an unnamed political source, the Kan public broadcaster reported that the government believes it is unlikely to make any progress in hostage negotiations until after the latest round of escalation with Iran ends.
The assessment was echoed by unnamed US officials, who told Ynet that even if negotiations were to begin before Israel retaliated against Iran, Hamas would be unlikely to agree to anything until the consequences of the strike became clear.
While officials sought to get negotiations up and running again, the relatives of the hostages held by Hamas convened a press conference on Sunday evening in which they urged Netanyahu to prioritize a deal to free their loved ones.
Sharon Sharabi, whose brothers Eli Sharabi and Yossi Sharabi were kidnapped to Gaza on October 7, with Yossi later murdered in captivity, said that a “real opportunity has been created to bring back the hostages.”
“It was always said that Sinwar was making things difficult and didn’t want a deal. Now that the main obstacle has been removed, there is significant potential to fulfill the will of the Israeli public and act according to the moral compass that has been silent for a whole year,” she said.
“Victory consists of two main things: defeating Hamas and returning the hostages,” Sharabi said. “The top Hamas leadership and commanders have all have been defeated. Now is the time to instruct the negotiating team to be decisive in returning the hostages.”
Shelly Shem-Tov, whose 21-year-old son Omer Shem Tov was abducted from the Nova music festival, said that “in the last month and a half, the IDF has achieved extraordinary accomplishments on all fronts.
“We heard the prime minister say that he wants to make a deal but there’s no one to talk to — but now the time has come.”
“The big obstacle is no longer here,” Shem-Tov said of Sinwar, who was said to have hardened his stance on a potential hostage deal in the weeks leading up to his death. “The time has come to do what needs to be done and that is to bring our loved ones home.”
Gilad Korngold, whose son Tal Shoham is a hostage in Gaza, said in remarks addressed to the prime minister that “the IDF has achieved significant accomplishments in Gaza, and now the final leg remains to fulfill your moral duty and bring back all the hostages.”
The US, too, has voiced optimism that Sinwar’s death could present a new opportunity for a hostage release and ceasefire deal. But reports on Sunday indicated that in private, officials are doubtful.
An unnamed senior Israeli official told Haaretz that there are currently no ongoing talks for a deal, and a planned trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East later this week was a “desperate attempt to make some sort of diplomatic move” ahead of Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Ongoing attempts since then to broker a deal for the release of the remaining hostages still held captive by Hamas have repeatedly failed, as Israel and the terror group accuse each other of sabotaging negotiations.
