PARIS: An adviser to Al-Qaeda’s likely current leader is calling for Hamas to release its Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to an American militant monitoring organization, SITE.
The online declaration was made Friday by Mustafa Hamid, also known as Abu Walid Al-Masri, who is father-in-law to Saif Al-Adel, the man widely believed to now head Al-Qaeda, according to SITE.
In it, Hamid claimed the attention given to recovering the Israeli hostages, both dead and alive, was overshadowing the fate of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.
He also hailed Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader whom Israel announced a day earlier it had killed. Sinwar was the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
Hamas must now “immediately” return the hostages and their bodies, and “this file must be closed and not opened again, as we know its consequences,” according to the statement.
“No one cares about the Palestinian prisoners, neither in the media, in negotiations, nor in demonstrations,” it said.
Hamas grabbed a total 251 hostages in its October 7, 2023 attacks. Since then, several have been found dead, and some were released in a short-lived December ceasefire, leaving 97 still in the hands of the Islamist Palestinian group.
Al-Qaeda, held responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, was the target of the American-led invasion of Afghanistan, where it was traditionally based.
Its then-leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in neighboring Pakistan in 2011. Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, was killed by a US drone strike in July 2022.
The core Al-Qaeda organization survives, and its de facto leader is believed to be Saif Al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces lieutenant-colonel whose presence has been reported in Iran.
Several experts consulted by AFP say Hamid is close to higher-ups in the core Al-Qaeda organization.
The group, which has spawned regional affiliates in Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Mali, has little leverage over Hamas, which is backed by Iran.
Hamas on Friday vowed not to release any hostages under the Gaza war ends.
Analysts said that, with no successor to Sinwar named and a vacuum in Hamas’s leadership, it will be difficult to find someone negotiate their release.
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Al-Qaeda adviser urges release of Israeli hostages in Gaza
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Al-Qaeda adviser urges release of Israeli hostages in Gaza
- Hamas must now “immediately” return the hostages and their bodies, and “this file must be closed and not opened again, as we know its consequences,” according to the statement
- “No one cares about the Palestinian prisoners, neither in the media, in negotiations, nor in demonstrations,” it said
Israeli police detain aide to Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Sunday they detained a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspected of obstructing an investigation, with local media reporting that it was tied to leaks of military information during the Gaza war.
Police did not name the individual, but Israeli media reported it was Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s current chief of staff, who is designated to be Israel’s next ambassador to the UK.
“This morning, a senior official in the prime minister’s office was detained for questioning... on suspicion of obstructing an investigation,” the police said.
“The suspect... is currently being questioned under caution.”
Former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein recently alleged that Braverman tried to obstruct an investigation into a leak of sensitive military information to the foreign press during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
In September 2024, Feldstein leaked a classified document from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild, for which he was later arrested and indicted.
The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 assault on Israel could only be released through military pressure instead of negotiations.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein said Braverman asked to meet with him soon after the leak.
Braverman informed him that the army had launched a probe into the affair, and said he could “shut down” the investigation, according to Feldstein.
In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favor of using the document to drum up public support for the war.
Israeli media reported that police also searched Braverman’s home on Sunday, and that Feldstein was expected to speak with police later in the day regarding Braverman’s suspected involvement in the affair.
Feldstein is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of having been recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf monarchy’s image in Israel.
Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.
An investigation is under way, and Feldstein, together with another Netanyahu aide, was taken into custody in late March.
In response to Braverman’s questioning by the police on Sunday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to suspend his appointment as ambassador to the UK.
“In light of the new developments in the Qatargate affair, the appointment of Tzachi Braverman as ambassador to Britain must be immediately suspended,” Lapid wrote on X.
“It is unacceptable that someone suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of the most important countries in Europe.”
Braverman is not suspected of direct involvement in the Qatargate affair, according to Israeli media.
Police did not name the individual, but Israeli media reported it was Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s current chief of staff, who is designated to be Israel’s next ambassador to the UK.
“This morning, a senior official in the prime minister’s office was detained for questioning... on suspicion of obstructing an investigation,” the police said.
“The suspect... is currently being questioned under caution.”
Former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein recently alleged that Braverman tried to obstruct an investigation into a leak of sensitive military information to the foreign press during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
In September 2024, Feldstein leaked a classified document from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild, for which he was later arrested and indicted.
The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 assault on Israel could only be released through military pressure instead of negotiations.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein said Braverman asked to meet with him soon after the leak.
Braverman informed him that the army had launched a probe into the affair, and said he could “shut down” the investigation, according to Feldstein.
In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favor of using the document to drum up public support for the war.
Israeli media reported that police also searched Braverman’s home on Sunday, and that Feldstein was expected to speak with police later in the day regarding Braverman’s suspected involvement in the affair.
Feldstein is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of having been recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf monarchy’s image in Israel.
Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.
An investigation is under way, and Feldstein, together with another Netanyahu aide, was taken into custody in late March.
In response to Braverman’s questioning by the police on Sunday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to suspend his appointment as ambassador to the UK.
“In light of the new developments in the Qatargate affair, the appointment of Tzachi Braverman as ambassador to Britain must be immediately suspended,” Lapid wrote on X.
“It is unacceptable that someone suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of the most important countries in Europe.”
Braverman is not suspected of direct involvement in the Qatargate affair, according to Israeli media.
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