Netanyahu claims Syria regime fall could boost prisoner swap deal with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed yesterday that Israel has an opportunity to conclude a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, leading to a ceasefire in Gaza, following the fall of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Anadolu reported.

Speaking during a meeting with families of Israeli captives in Gaza, Netanyahu claimed that the Assad regime’s fall was in part due to “the Israeli decisive operations against Hezbollah and Hamas”, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

This comes days after Israeli politicians claimed that there had been “serious and advanced contacts” for a hostage swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a new Egyptian proposal, according to Israeli media.

There has been no confirmation yet from Egypt or Hamas of the Israeli claim.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the Egyptian proposal includes a cessation of fighting for 45 to 60 days and the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

The proposal also includes a gradual release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian held in Israeli captivity and an increase in the number of aid trucks entering Gaza to 350 a day, according to the broadcaster.

Israel, which holds over 10,000 Palestinian detainees in its jails, estimates that 101 hostages are being held in Gaza. Hamas reported that 33 of them had been killed in indiscriminate Israeli air strikes.

Hamas has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to conclude an agreement, and agreed last May to a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden, but Netanyahu backed down and insisted on continuing the war.

The Israeli opposition and the captives’ families accuse Netanyahu of obstructing the agreement to preserve his position as prime minister after many extremist ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly threatened to withdraw from the his coalition and bring it down the government if the war on Gaza is ended.

Read: Israel army chief declares Syria a fourth ‘fighting front’