Israel proposed giving Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar safe passage out of Gaza in exchange for the group freeing the hostages it holds and giving up control of the strip, a senior official said, even as doubts deepen about the two sides’ ability to reach any cease-fire accord.
"I’m ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, whoever wants to join him,” Israel hostage envoy Gal Hirsch said in an interview Tuesday in the Bloomberg News Washington bureau. "We want the hostages back. We want demilitarization, deradicalization, of course — a new system that will manage Gaza.”
Hirsch said he put the offer of safe passage on the table a day and a half ago and declined to characterize the response so far.
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