Israel’s spy agency, the Mossad, said Sunday that Hamas had rejected Israel’s offer for a deal to release some of the 133 remaining hostages being held in Gaza.
The Mossad has been representing Israel in indirect negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, in recent weeks.
The Times of Israel reported:
Hamas has rejected the offer Israel put forward last week in Cairo, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Mossad intelligence agency.
“The rejection of the proposal from the three mediators,” says the PMO, “which included significantly greater room for flexibility on the Israeli side, proves that [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is not interested in a humanitarian deal and in the return of the hostages, and continues to take advantage of tensions with Iran to try to unite the theaters and to achieve a general escalation in the region.”
Israel will continue working to achieve its goals, says the statement, and will “turn over every stone to bring back the 133 hostages from Gaza as soon as possible.”
The announcement came after thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and throughout Israel, including at major intersections and overpasses, to demand the release of the hostages.
The demonstrations dispersed when the Home Front Command warned of the incoming Iranian drone and missile attack, which Israel’s air defenses intercepted overnight.
Hamas has refused to accept a deal that does not involve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Israel refuses to give up its goal of ending Hamas as a military threat.
Hamas hardened its demands after President Joe Biden appeared to agree with it that a ceasefire should precede a hostage deal — a reversal of the U.S. position since the October 7 terror attack.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
