Israeli entrepreneurs offer reward for release of hostages

Daniel Birnbaum, the former CEO of SodaStream, told AFP on Monday, October 21, that since he said on social networking site X that he would provide USD $100,000 in cash or bitcoin to “anyone who delivers from Gaza a living Israeli prisoner,” he has received around 100 calls.

In addition, the ex-chairman of the soda corporation with headquarters in Israel said that his offer was good till “midnight Wednesday.”.

The majority of the calls, according to Birnbaum, were jests, threats, or obscenities, but “ten to twenty could be legitimate” and were sent to Israeli authorities for more investigation.

“More concerned with getting out (of Gaza) than with the money,” he said the individuals who phoned him.

Birnbaum said that because there were so many hostages, there had to be some non-Hamas supporters who knew where the prisoners were being held.

“There might be civilians who think enough is enough and they want to live,” he said.

251 persons were held captive by militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault that was planned by the Palestinian organization Hamas.

Of them, 97 are still being detained in Gaza; 34 of them are reportedly deceased, according to Israeli sources.

1,206 persons died as a consequence of the Hamas assault; the majority of them were civilians, according to an AFP count of official Israeli data.

At least 42,603 individuals have died in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory operation; the majority of them were civilians, according to information the UN deems credible from the health ministry in the region controlled by Hamas.

“I’m not expecting to get everyone back, but I’d be delighted if we got back just one hostage,” Birnbaum said.

He said that he did not “ask for permission” from the government of Israel.

“I believe that the financial incentive component ought to originate from the private sector; we’ll see if that works.” It’s not working, whatever we’ve been doing up until now,” he said.

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The Israeli-American real estate entrepreneur David Hager started soliciting funds after learning about Birnbaum’s idea.

With the assistance of pals, he informed Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday that he had already amassed around US$400,000.

He added that each of them “offered in $100,000” and urged more businesspeople to join them in raising the necessary $10 million.

“There are IT guys here who have made huge sums, and this is small money for them,” said Hager, who amassed his wealth in the US.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Palestinians who put down their arms and handed back prisoners would live, in response to the recent passing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The Israeli army also promised that “whoever lays down their arms and returns the hostages will be able to leave Gaza… in peace” on flyers flown over Gaza in the days that followed.

Since the start of the conflict, the Israeli army has been airdropping hundreds of these fliers with requests for information on captives.

However, Michael Milshtein, a specialist in Palestinian relations at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center, told AFP that there is little likelihood of success for these demands.

“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.

Such proposals from the Israeli army were certain to fail, according to Muhammad al-Najjar, a native of northern Gaza who moved to the southern city of Khan Yunis to avoid an ongoing Israeli military campaign.

He stated, “As a people, we don’t pay attention to anything the (Israeli army) publishes or distributes,” noting that some individuals in the coastal region, which is severely lacking in supplies, use the posters as kindling for fires.

The 33-year-old Najjar said that he thinks “Hamas will not agree to release the hostages without something in return” and emphasized the need for a negotiated ceasefire agreement to ensure the release of the prisoners.

In November of last year, 105 hostages were freed during a one-week ceasefire; 80 Israelis were freed in return for 240 Palestinian detainees.

Since then, all efforts to negotiate a fresh ceasefire have failed, with both parties assigning responsibility for the delays in the discussions.