Israeli businessmen are promising up to $100,000 to anyone who delivers a living Israeli hostage.
Ten million dollars to recover hostages: Israeli entrepreneurs are offering rewards to convince Gazans to release dozens of people held in the Palestinian territory after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.
The former CEO of SodaStream, Daniel Birnbaum, told AFP on Monday that he received around a hundred calls after announcing on X that he would pay $100,000 to “anyone from Gaza delivers a living Israeli hostage”. This offer is valid until Wednesday midnight. Among these calls, “10 to 20 could be legitimate” and they were transferred to Israeli authorities for verification, he explained, stressing that his interlocutors “were more concerned about getting out (of Gaza) than about the money.”
“Anyway, everything we’ve tried so far hasn’t worked.”
“It’s impossible that with so many hostages the people of Gaza are keeping information to themselves” on their place of detention, he said, ensuring that he would contact “to the Gazans, not to Hamas. There are surely civilians who say to themselves “enough” and who want to have a normal life.” “I don’t expect to bring everyone back (more) I would be happy if we recover even one hostage”he said. Daniel Birnbaum assures that he does not have “asked for permission” to the Israeli government. “The financial reward must come from the private sector, we will see if it works. Anyway, everything we’ve tried so far hasn’t worked.”he believes.
During the unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, 251 people were kidnapped. Of this figure, 97 are still hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.
David Hager, an Israeli-American real estate developer, also made a reward offer on Sunday, telling Channel 12 television that he had already raised $400,000 through friends. “Everyone put in $100,000”said this man who made his fortune in the United States, calling on other businessmen to put in the effort to reach the sum of 10 million dollars. “There are tech people here who win big and for them it’s nothing”he explained, hoping “bring a hundred hostages home” even if “we know that a large number of them died”.
Little chance of success
After the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday promised Palestinians who lay down their arms and free the hostages that their lives would be saved. Leaflets dropped in the following days by the army over Gaza also ensure that “anyone who lays down their arms and returns the hostages will be able to leave (Gaza) and live in peace”. However, these appeals are unlikely to succeed, according to Michael Milshtein, an expert at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. “There could be one, two or three cases, but we are not going to see the roads full of people saying they are ready to accept this offer”he told AFP, emphasizing “that it has existed since the first day of the war”.
Muhammad Al-Najjar, who fled the north of the Gaza Strip for Khan Younes in the south, assured AFP that the Israeli offer was doomed to failure. “We don’t care about the messages the enemy sends us”said this 33-year-old man, believing that Israel “will not keep his promises”. “Hamas will not release the hostages without something in return”he recalls. In November, around a hundred hostages were released as part of a ceasefire agreement and an exchange with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. But since then, all attempts to reach a new exchange agreement have failed.
