HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages
Frustrated with the dwindling prospect of reaching a ceasefire deal in the year-long Gaza war, some Israeli entrepreneurs have sought a different avenue to release hostages -- offering a financial reward for those who choose to free them.
Former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum told AFP Monday he had received around 100 calls after announcing on social media platform X that he would give $100,000 in cash or bitcoin to anyone who delivers from Gaza a living Israeli prisoner.
The former chairman of the Israel-based soda company added that his offer was valid until midnight Wednesday.
Birnbaum said most of the calls are pranks, threats or curses, but 10 to 20 could be legitimate and were transferred to Israeli authorities for further verification.
He said the people who called him were more concerned with getting out (of Gaza) than with the money.
With so many hostages, Birnbaum said, some civilians unaffiliated to Hamas must have information on the captives' whereabouts.
There might be civilians who think enough is enough and they want to live, he said.
Militants took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack orchestrated by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Of those, 97 still remain held in Gaza, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has so far killed at least 42,603 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
I'm not expecting to get everyone back (but) I'd be delighted if we got back just one hostage, Birnbaum said.
He said he didn't ask for permission from the Israeli government.
I think the element of a financial reward should come from the private sector, let's see if it works. Whatever we have been doing until now, its not working, he added.
- Flyers -
Upon hearing of Birnbaum's initiative, Israeli-American real estate developer David Hager also began raising money.
He told Israel's Channel 12 on Sunday that he had already gathered some $400,000 with help from friends.
Each of them offered in $100,000, he said, calling on to other businessmen to contribute in order to reach $10 million.
Hager, who made his fortune in the United States, said there are IT guys here who have made huge sums, and this is small money for them.
Following the recent death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Palestinians who laid down their weapons and brought back captives would live.
Flyers dropped above Gaza by the Israeli army in the following days also guaranteed that whoever lays down their arms and returns the hostages will be able to leave (Gaza)... in peace.
The Israeli army has been air dropping thousands of such flyers since the beginning of the war, asking for information about hostages.
But these calls have little chances of success, Palestinian affairs expert Michael Milshtein of Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center told AFP.
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.
Muhammad al-Najjar, a resident of northern Gaza who fled to the southern city of Khan Yunis to escape an ongoing Israeli military operation, told AFP that such offers from the Israeli army were bound to fail.
As a people, we don't pay attention to anything the (Israeli army) publishes or distributes, he said, adding that some people use the flyers as kindle for fires in the shortage-stricken coastal territory.
Najjar, 33, said he believes that Hamas will not agree to release the hostages without something in return and pointed to the necessity of a negotiated ceasefire deal to guarantee that the captives are freed.
During a one-week truce in November last year, 105 hostages were released, among them 80 Israelis in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
All attempts to reach a new ceasefire have failed since, with both sides trading blame for stalling talks.
(2024/10/22 18:38)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 10/23 19:56 US says 'now is the time' to end Gaza war
- 10/23 19:54 Porn stars urge men to vote against Trump
- 10/23 19:50 ABBA's Bjorn among 11,000 artists issuing AI warning
- 10/23 16:46 Harris says US ready for woman president
- 10/23 16:43 Chile ex-international footballer Valdivia held over rape complaint
- 10/23 16:42 Israeli strikes pound Lebanon as death toll tops 1,550 since Sept 23
- 10/22 18:42 Long wait for justice in India's backlogged courts
- 10/22 18:40 Is Musk's million-dollar US voter lottery legal?
- 10/22 18:38 Wealthy Israelis offer rewards for release of Gaza hostages
- 10/22 16:40 Toxicology tests show Liam Payne had 'multiple' drugs in system-- reports
- 10/22 16:37 NBA and Nike extend partnership deal for 12 years
- 10/22 16:35 UN biodiversity summit hears appeals for action, money to save nature
- 10/21 19:07 Seoul demands 'immediate withdrawal' of North Korean troops in Russia
- 10/21 17:57 Bomb hoax threats to Indian airlines spark chaos
- 10/21 17:55 Harris celebrates birthday at Georgia churches as Trump serves McDonald's
- 10/21 17:03 US, Canada warships pass through Taiwan Strait
- 10/21 17:02 Eight-storey building collapses in Kenyan capital
- 10/21 17:00 Charles expresses 'great joy' at being back in Australia
- 10/18 18:34 Canada marine protection plan aims to serve as global model
- 10/18 18:27 Musk stumps for Trump in key US swing state
- 10/18 18:20 Mbappe to keep any explanations for Swedish justice, 'if necessary' - lawyer
- 10/18 17:08 French Senate speaker 'astounded' by Macron 'ignorance' on Israel
- 10/18 17:03 One Direction members 'devastated' by Liam Payne's death
- 10/18 17:00 Trump says Zelensky 'should never have let' Ukraine war start
- 10/17 17:04 'Nowhere is safe'-- Lebanon Christian villiage reels from Israel strike
- 10/17 17:01 Bondi beach 'closed' as Sydney shores hit by 'tar balls'
- 10/17 16:59 UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty
- 10/17 16:57 Three US presidents join Kennedy clan at Ethel Kennedy funeral
- 10/17 16:55 South Korea's Hwang Ui-jo faces four years in jail for sex video
- 10/17 16:54 Israeli minister criticises Macron over France defence show ban
- 10/16 17:22 Portrait by humanoid robot to sell at auction in art world first
- 10/16 17:16 'Mysterious black balls' close Sydney beaches
- 10/16 16:32 North Korea claims more than a million people joined army this week
- 10/16 16:31 Harris mocks Trump after rally turns into bizarre dance-a-thon
- 10/16 16:30 Kylian Mbappe 'shocked' to see name linked to Swedish rape investigation
- 10/16 16:29 Russia working to undermine Moldova vote-- US
- 10/15 19:26 Biden's back (not) and Kamala sips a brewsky
- 10/15 19:24 K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying
- 10/15 17:35 Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden-- report
- 10/15 17:24 Trump says could support using US military against Americans
- 10/15 17:23 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic