FALCON POWERS – According to reports, Yahya Sinwar received an offer from Egypt to leave the Gaza Strip in exchange for allowing Cairo to negotiate the release of hostages. However, he rejected this offer, responding defiantly, “I am not under siege. I am on Palestinian land.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s political-security cabinet met last night for several hours of discussion. At the conclusion, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “In the cabinet discussion, new ideas were raised to assess the feasibility of planning for the release of hostages.”
This comes as a senior Israeli official recently remarked that no significant progress or breakthrough is expected in the talks, at least until the phase of the Israeli attack on Iran and any potential responses are concluded. This is because it is also not anticipated that Sinwar’s substitutes will promote any deal until they see that the regional war does not escalate.
Earlier, the newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported that although there is no clarification within Hamas regarding replacing Sinwar, one possibility is that a committee of senior officials—rather than a single individual—could facilitate communications to reach a potential agreement.
In this context, Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security service), arrived in Cairo yesterday and held a preliminary meeting with the new head of Egyptian intelligence, Hassan Rashad, in an attempt to advance discussions towards an agreement.
Additionally, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting Egypt on Wednesday, is expected to focus on plans to establish an international force to oversee the management of the Gaza Strip and the Philadelphi route, which Egypt may also participate in, according to the Hebrew website “Walla.”
Khalil Hayya, the deputy head of Hamas in Gaza, stated during a recorded speech mourning Sinwar that “the captives of the occupation will not return except by stopping the aggression on Gaza and completely withdrawing from it, along with the release of our prisoners from the jails.”
Source: Wall Street Journal + Walla
