JERUSALEM â 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 â 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 âanyone who delivers from Gaza a living Israeli prisonerâ.
The former chairman of the Israel-based soda company added that his offer was valid until âmidnight Wednesdayâ.
READ: Israel set for general strike after Gaza hostages found dead
Birnbaum said most of the calls are pranks, threats or curses, but â10 to 20 could be legitimateâ and were transferred to Israeli authorities for further verification.
He said the people who called him were âmore concerned with getting out (of Gaza) than with the moneyâ.
With so many hostages, Birnbaum said, some civilians unaffiliated to Hamas must have information on the captivesâ whereabouts.
âThere might be civilians who think enough is enough and they want to live,â he said.
READ: Hamas mourns Sinwar, vows no hostage release until war ends
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.
Israelâs 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.
âIâm not expecting to get everyone back (but) Iâd be delighted if we got back just one hostage,â Birnbaum said.
He said he didnât âask for permissionâ from the Israeli government.
âI think the element of a financial reward should come from the private sector, letâs see if it works. Whatever we have been doing until now, its not working,â he added.
Flyers
Upon hearing of Birnbaumâs initiative, Israeli-American real estate developer David Hager also began raising money.
He told Israelâs Channel 12 on Sunday that he had already gathered some $400,000 with help from friends.
Each of them âoffered in $100,000â, 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 âthere are IT guys here who have made huge sums, and this is small money for themâ.
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 âwhoever lays down their arms and returns the hostages will be able to leave (Gaza)⌠in peaceâ.
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 Universityâs Moshe Dayan Center told AFP.
âThere could be one, two, or three cases, but weâre not going to see roads full of people ready to accept this offer,â 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.
âAs a people, we donât pay attention to anything the (Israeli army) publishes or distributes,â 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 âHamas will not agree to release the hostages without something in returnâ 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.