JERUSALEM: Frustrated with the dwindling prospect of reaching a ceasefire deal in the year-long Gaza war, some Israeli entrepreneurs have sought a different avenue to release hostages — offering a financial reward for those who choose to free them.
Former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum told AFP Monday he had received around 100 calls after announcing on social media platform X that he would give $100,000 in cash or bitcoin to “anyone who delivers from Gaza a living Israeli prisoner.”
The former chairman of the Israel-based soda company added that his offer was valid until “midnight Wednesday.”
Birnbaum said most of the calls are pranks, threats or curses, but “10 to 20 could be legitimate” and were transferred to Israeli authorities for further verification.
He said the people who called him were “more concerned with getting out (of Gaza) than with the money.”
With so many hostages, Birnbaum said, some civilians unaffiliated to Hamas must have information on the captives’ whereabouts.
“There might be civilians who think enough is enough and they want to live,” he said.
Militants took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack orchestrated by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Of those, 97 still remain held in Gaza, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has so far killed at least 42,603 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
“I’m not expecting to get everyone back (but) I’d be delighted if we got back just one hostage,” Birnbaum said.
He said he didn’t “ask for permission” from the Israeli government.
“I think the element of a financial reward should come from the private sector, let’s see if it works. Whatever we have been doing until now, its not working,” he added.
Raising funds
Upon hearing of Birnbaum’s initiative, Israeli-American real estate developer David Hager also began raising money.
He told Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday that he had already gathered some $400,000 with help from friends.
Each of them “offered in $100,000,” he said, calling on to other businessmen to contribute in order to reach $10 million.
Hager, who made his fortune in the United States, said “there are IT guys here who have made huge sums, and this is small money for them.”
Following the recent death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Palestinians who laid down their weapons and brought back captives would live.
Flyers dropped above Gaza by the Israeli army in the following days also guaranteed that “whoever lays down their arms and returns the hostages will be able to leave (Gaza)... in peace.”
The Israeli army has been air dropping thousands of such flyers since the beginning of the war, asking for information about hostages.
But these calls have little chances of success, Palestinian affairs expert Michael Milshtein of Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center told AFP.
“There could be one, two, or three cases, but we’re not going to see roads full of people ready to accept this offer,” he said.
Muhammad Al-Najjar, a resident of northern Gaza who fled to the southern city of Khan Yunis to escape an ongoing Israeli military operation, told AFP that such offers from the Israeli army were bound to fail.
“As a people, we don’t pay attention to anything the (Israeli army) publishes or distributes,” he said, adding that some people use the flyers as kindle for fires in the shortage-stricken coastal territory.
Najjar, 33, said he believes that “Hamas will not agree to release the hostages without something in return” and pointed to the necessity of a negotiated ceasefire deal to guarantee that the captives are freed.
During a one-week truce in November last year, 105 hostages were released, among them 80 Israelis in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
All attempts to reach a new ceasefire have failed since, with both sides trading blame for stalling talks.
Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages
https://arab.news/ca36r
Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages
- Rewards reach up to $100,000 in cash or bitcoin
Qatari emir holds calls with Iranian and US presidents, condemns targeting Al-Udeid
- Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Iran’s action contradicted the principles of good neighborliness
- Masoud Pezeshkian expressed regret to Sheikh Tamim for the damages caused by Monday’s attack
- Donald Trump rejected ‘any aggression that threatens the security and safety of the State of Qatar’
LONDON: The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, received separate phone calls from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday following the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile attack on Al-Udeid Air Base.
Sheikh Tamim strongly condemned the Iranian attack at the outset of his call with Pezeshkian. He said the act was “a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as a breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
The IRGC on Monday night fired missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military base in the Middle East, accommodating about 10,000 service members, located 30 kilometers southwest of Doha. The attack was a retaliatory action after the US hit three of Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Sheikh Tamim said that Iran’s action contradicted the principles of good neighborliness and highlighted Doha’s ongoing commitment to dialogue with Iran.
He urged an immediate halt to military operations and a return to negotiations to resolve the crisis and ensure regional security and safety, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Pezeshkian expressed regret to Sheikh Tamim for the damage caused by Monday’s attack. He said that Qatar and its people were not the intended targets of the military operation and that “the attack does not constitute a threat” to Qatar.
Sheikh Tamim also spoke with Trump, who affirmed Washington’s solidarity with Doha after the Iranian attack and rejected “any aggression that threatens the security and safety of the State of Qatar and undermines the security and stability of the region.”
During the call with Sheikh Tamim, Trump urged restraint and seeking diplomatic solutions.
Sheikh Tamim thanked Trump for the supportive stance of the United States. He also mentioned that the readiness of the Qatari armed forces and the precautionary measures authorities took resulted in no fatalities or injuries.
Lebanon’s prime minister hails success in staying out of Iran-Israel conflict
- War prevented in Lebanon but true stability demands departure of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, Nawaf Salam says during visit to Doha
- ‘We are striving to use all available political and diplomatic forces to pressure Israel’ into withdrawing, he adds
BEIRUT: During an official visit to Qatar on Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the fact that his country had managed to avoid being pulled into the conflict between Iran and Israel that began on June 13.
When he met the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Salam hailed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran announced on Monday, and thanked Doha for its efforts to help end the hostilities. Both leaders agreed that the end of the conflict would help foster stability in Lebanon, Palestine and the wider Gulf region, the prime minister’s media office said.
During a joint press conference with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Salam said: “We in Lebanon, all of us, have succeeded in preventing the country from being drawn into a new war amid the ongoing regional conflict over the past two weeks.
“Now, with military operations having ceased, we look forward to turning a new page focused on diplomatic efforts.”
Israel has been accused of ramping up strikes on targets in southern Lebanon amid its conflict with Iran, and near-daily violations of a November ceasefire agreement that ended its 14-month war with Hezbollah.
Salam arrived in Doha on Tuesday morning, the day after Iran’s attack on a US military base in Qatar caused his flight to be diverted to Bahrain. He resumed his journey when airspace reopened and was the first passenger to land at the city’s airport following the previous day’s incident.
He condemned the attack on Qatar and expressed his full solidarity with the leadership of the country and its people. He also described the Israeli aggression against Iran as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and a breach of international law.
Addressing the possibility of renewed Hezbollah involvement in conflicts, Salam said: “The Lebanese state will extend its authority, through its own forces, over all Lebanese territory, as stipulated in the Taif Agreement.”
He added that “true stability cannot be achieved unless Israel fully withdraws from the Lebanese territories it continues to occupy, known as the Five Points.”
During talks with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed, Salam thanked Qatar for its “continued support for the Lebanese army.” They addressed the need for intensified international and regional efforts to halt repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and reiterated calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territories, reconstruction efforts, and the full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty over all of its territory.
Regarding the possibility that Lebanon could ask Qatar and Turkiye to put diplomatic pressure on Israel to withdraw from its positions in Lebanese territory, Salam said: “We are striving to use all available political and diplomatic forces to pressure Israel, beginning with our Arab brothers and extending to the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the United States.”
He highlighted reported Israeli violations of the November ceasefire deal and called for international pressure on the state “to respect and implement that agreement.”
Qatari officials offered their support for efforts to address the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, and are considering “practical plans that would allow for a safe and dignified return to their homes,” Salam’s media office said.
The prime minister led a delegation during his trip to Qatar that included Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh, Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamni, and Minister of State for Administrative Reform Fadi Makki.
Syria welcomes EU sanctions against former Assad security officials
- The EU has imposed sanctions on Suhail al-Hassan, Ghiyath Dallah, Miqdad Fathiyeh, Mudallal Khoury, Imad Khoury
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs say they repeatedly assaulted Syrian security personnel, civilians
LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic has welcomed an EU decision to impose sanctions on former security figures in former dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, which collapsed in December 2024.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision reflected a growing acknowledgment of the extent of the violations committed by former figures in the Assad regime against Syrians and their role in fueling violent sectarian events.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Suhail al-Hassan, Ghiyath Dallah, Miqdad Fathiyeh, Mudallal Khoury and Imad Khoury. The ministry said the five were involved in committing serious crimes against Syrians and, in March, played a direct role in fueling sectarian strife in the coastal towns of Banias, Latika and Jableh.
It added they had repeatedly assaulted Syrian security personnel and civilians and attempted to destabilize the coastal areas.
The ministry said a report investigating the coastal events would be submitted to the presidency and those responsible would be held accountable.
“The Syrian government reiterates its commitment to prosecute all those involved in these crimes, wherever they may be, inside or outside the country, to ensure that they are brought to justice and that the victims receive justice,” it said in a statement.
Explosion heard in Damascus, Syrian security forces confirm leftover munitions detonation
- Residents had heard a loud blast and saw a plume of smoke rising in the western neighborhoods of the city
DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces detonated leftover munitions as part of a training exercise in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, a security source said, creating an explosion that was heard across the city.
The source from Syria’s General Security Service, which is broadly responsible for security matters, told Reuters no-one was wounded in the controlled blast.
Residents had heard a loud blast and saw a plume of smoke rising in the western neighborhoods of the city early on Tuesday evening.
UNRWA chief says cash flow crisis may force him into ‘unprecedented decision’
- Philippe Lazzarini said the UNRWA faced a $200 million deficit
- “Without additional funding I will soon have to take an unprecedented decision affecting our services to Palestinian refugees“
GENEVA: The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday he may have to take an “unprecedented decision” about the services it provides if funding is not found soon to ease a cash flow crisis.
Philippe Lazzarini said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faced a $200 million deficit.
“Cash flow is managed on a weekly basis,” he told reporters in Berlin. “Without additional funding I will soon have to take an unprecedented decision affecting our services to Palestinian refugees.”
Lazzarini gave no further details of what that decision might entail.
The United States was UNRWA’s biggest donor but President Donald Trump announced broad cuts in foreign aid, including to UNRWA, earlier this year.
Other Western governments’ aid budgets are also under pressure following calls by Trump for more spending on defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on.
UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Lazzarini said that two weeks ago he had been about to suspend 10,000-15,000 UNRWA staff in the region because of the cash flow crisis but an advance contribution from a donor had given the agency respite for the next two months.
“Just to process the payroll of our staff we need $60 million a month. We have no visibility anymore beyond September,” he added.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has requested a strategic assessment of the impact of the UNRWA mandate and will propose how the right of Palestinian refugees can be protected, Lazzarini said.
Israel has banned UNRWA from operating on its territory, accusing it of employing members of Palestinian militant group Hamas who took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel that led to the war in Gaza.
UNRWA said as the ban went into effect this year that operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank would also suffer.
The UN has said it will investigate all accusations made by Israel and asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been forthcoming. Lazzarini has said that UNRWA has been the target of a disinformation campaign.
