Politics Israeli general offers Sinwar departure from Gaza

In view of faltering negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage deal, Israel is making the terrorist organization Hamas an offer for the safe departure of its leader Jihia al-Sinwar from the Gaza Strip. "I am ready to provide a safe corridor for Sinwar, his family and anyone who wants to join him," said Israel's Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, who is responsible for the hostages and missing persons, in an interview with the Bloomberg financial service.

"We want the hostages back. We want demilitarization, de-radicalization and of course - a new system for managing Gaza," Hirsch said.

According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special coordinator for the return of the hostages put the offer on the table around two days ago. Hirsch did not comment on a possible response.

Sinwar's whereabouts are not known. It is assumed that he is in an extensive network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip.

A Hamas representative said in mid-January that the leaders in the Gaza Strip would not leave voluntarily. "It's either victory or martyrdom," a Hamas source told the German Press Agency in Beirut. Gaza is their land and the blood of the leaders is no more valuable than that of the people.

The negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war - in which Egypt, the USA and the Gulf state of Qatar are the most important mediators - and a release of the Israeli hostages from the captivity of the Islamist Hamas are at a standstill.