Israel Offers to Allow Sinwar Safe Passage Out of Gaza to Free Hostages

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Israeli ceasefire negotiators offered Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar safe passage out of the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of all of Israel’s hostages, Israeli hostage envoy Gal Hirsch told Bloomberg News on September 10. Hirsch added that the offer would also require Hamas to cede control of Gaza and for the enclave to be demilitarized and deradicalized. “I’m ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, and whoever wants to join him,” Hirsch told the publication’s Washington bureau during an interview. “We want the hostages back. We want demilitarization, de-radicalization and of course — a new system that will manage Gaza.” Hirsch repeated his offer the following day in an interview with CNN, saying, “I even believe that we will agree to build safe passage to the chief terrorist, the new Hitler, Sinwar – safe passage to him and whoever he wants to join him out of Gaza.” Hirsch told Bloomberg that he put the offer on the table a day and a half before his interview but did not clarify whether Hamas had responded.

The offer was made by Israel as part of the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations involving the United States, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and Hamas representatives. Hamas currently holds 101 hostages, using them to conduct psychological warfare against Israel. On September 2, Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said that the Iran-backed terrorist group issued instructions to hostage guards to execute their living captives if Israeli troops approached. Hamas reportedly executed six hostages, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one day before their bodies were recovered by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers on August 30. Hirsch told the MEAD Conference in Washington, DC, on September 9, “While our negotiating team is in Doha, Hamas continues to kill hostages in Gaza,” adding that there is a direct link between Hamas’s willingness to negotiate and international pressure on Israel.

Expert Analysis

“With Hamas’s military capabilities largely wiped out, Israel’s offer to allow Sinwar to escape with his life in exchange for freeing Israeli hostages is likely the terrorist leader’s best option, having been a marked man since October 7. Such a deal would be in the interest of Palestinians in Gaza, who would finally be able to rebuild under a deradicalized government. Israel might also benefit from such a deal, allowing it to relieve the societal and economic toll after nearly a year of war despite the risk of leaving part of Hamas intact.” — Jonathan Schanzer, FDD Senior Vice President for Research

“It is unlikely that Sinwar would opt for an exit like Yasser Arafat’s departure from Lebanon. Hamas is primarily focused on its survival in Gaza, making the prospect of Sinwar leaving simply untenable. Furthermore, Sinwar understands that Israel will continue to pursue him if he is in Gaza or living abroad.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Israeli Precedent of Exiling Terrorist Leaders

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously floated exiling Sinwar during an interview on the “Call Me Back” podcast in May. “This war can be over tomorrow,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas lays down its arms, surrenders, and returns the hostages, the war is over. It’s up to them.” In 1982, following the First Lebanon War, Israel agreed to a U.S.-brokered deal that allowed Yasser Arafat — the late leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah — safe passage out of Beirut along with 14,000 PLO fighters. Like Sinwar, Arafat masterminded or consented to numerous Palestinian terrorist attacks, including the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, and Israeli soldiers reportedly had multiple opportunities to assassinate him during the conflict. Arafat and his fighters were transported by ship to Tunisia, where the organization established its new headquarters. Arafat retained control of the Palestinian cause from abroad before triumphantly returning to the West Bank and Gaza after signing the 1993 Oslo Accords and establishing his PLO as the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.

 Related Analysis

“Could Hamas Be Exiled?” by Jonathan Schanzer and Emily Bornstein

“Israeli Defense Minister Says Hamas Destroyed as Organized Fighting Force,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israeli Strike Targets Top Hamas Commanders in Gaza,” FDD Flash Brief

“Documents Detail Hamas Plan to Use Hostages to Remain Military Threat,” FDD Flash Brief