Israel has proposed giving safe passage out of the Gaza Strip to Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar in exchange for freeing hostages it kidnapped from Israel during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and giving up control of the strip, a senior Israeli official told Bloomberg News on Tuesday.
Israel’s hostage envoy, Gal Hirsch, told the media outlet that an offer for Sinwar’s safe passage was presented a day and a half ago, but he would not characterize the response so far. A request for comment from Hamas by The Hill was not immediately answered.
“I’m ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, whoever wants to join him,” Hirsch told Bloomberg.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
The offer appears to mark a significant gesture from the Israeli government amid stalled efforts to secure a cease-fire and hostage release that has proved elusive over months of negotiations mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar.
“The fierce urgency of now is real for every individual who is suffering as a consequence of this conflict. We feel that urgency, and we — and so we have a determination,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview Tuesday from London.