Netanyahu Offers $5 Million Reward to Any Palestinians Who Free Israeli Hostages

19 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, -: Israeli Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu visits Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
19 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, -: Israeli Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu visits Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
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Netanyahu Offers $5 Million Reward to Any Palestinians Who Free Israeli Hostages

19 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, -: Israeli Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu visits Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa
19 November 2024, Palestinian Territories, -: Israeli Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu visits Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO/dpa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a $5 million reward and one-way ticket out of Gaza to Palestinians who free Israeli hostages held in the territory.

Netanyahu made the offer during a tour of central Gaza on Tuesday.

Israel says Hamas continues to hold 101 hostages, roughly one-third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel has vowed to press ahead with its war, which has devastated Gaza, until all hostages are free.

“I also say to those who want to get out of this maze: Whoever brings us a hostage will find a safe way, he and his family, to get out,” Netanyahu said. “We will also give a reward of $5 million for each hostage.”

Families of the hostages have accused Netanyahu of not doing enough to bring their loved-ones home, and tens of thousands of Israelis regularly take to the streets calling on him to reach a deal.

A former aide to Netanyahu has been arrested on suspicion of leaking classified materials to foreign media over the summer in an apparent effort to scuttle a deal.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of dragging his feet because a deal would likely lead to the collapse of his hardline government and the launch of an official investigation into the government’s failures ahead of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Netanyahu rejects the criticism and says he is doing his utmost to free them.



Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Saturday that it had received messages from the new government in Damascus following the ouster of its longtime Syrian ally, former president Bashar al-Assad, AFP reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is indirectly in contact with Damascus," Tehran's special envoy for Syrian affairs Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The diplomat said Iran had "also received messages" from Syria, but did not specify the intermediary country facilitating the communication.

Sheibani was responding to a question about recent comments by Syria's foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, regarding communications with Iran, according to IRNA.

"Our view of the developments in Syria and the restoration of relations with Damascus is forward-looking," Sheibani said, emphasizing that Iran was "thoughtfully" monitoring the situation there.

Iran, a staunch ally of Assad's regime, evacuated its diplomatic mission in Syria in December when opposition forces, led by current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, overthrew the government.

Sharaa said in December that Syria "cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran".

He added that ties between Damascus and Tehran "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and non-interference in the affairs of both countries".

Iran had provided assistance to Assad during Syria's civil war, helping him claw back control of swathes of the country.

Sheibani, who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Syria, reiterated Tehran's position that the "future and destiny" of Syria must be determined by Syrians alone.

"The stability and peace of Syria are of particular importance to us, and we are against any foreign interference in the affairs of this country," he said.