Mossad Director David Barnea has said he will have “zero tolerance for games from Hamas,” in negotiations over hostages with the Gaza terror group and relevant Qatari mediators.
A week-long temporary cease-fire brought back 86 Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas during its October 7 invasion but left some 130-150 more, as well as the remains of dead hostages still in Hamas’s hands.
There were multiple reasons for the blowing up of the cease-fire on Friday morning, from Hamas offering fewer than 10 female hostages in return, claiming some were dead or some were beyond its reach in the hands of other Gaza terrorist groups, to Hamas firing rockets on Friday morning.
Barnea wanted to convey to Hamas that such games would only lead to more military pressure from Israel.
Mossad staff instructed to return to Israel
The Mossad chief was also instructed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have his staff in Qatar return to Israel to show the seriousness of Jerusalem’s commitment to continuing the war if Hamas does not keep its word.Some additional statements about returning all the Israeli female hostages to Israel were also attributed to Barnea, though some statements from his office tend to mix in messages being emphasized by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Still, it was unusual for any kind of public statement to leak from Barnea, who has been the quietest in public of the various hostage czars involved, such as former IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, and former IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon.
The PMO emphasizing Barnea’s role and his travels to and from Qatar has been a rare insight into the spy agency’s role in a mix of normalization talks as well as contacts with countries with whom Israel does not officially have diplomatic relations.
Stories also leaked over the weekend about Israel communicating some of its potential future security plans for Gaza, such as a northern-area security zone, to Arab countries in the region.
While some countries who received the update, like the UAE and Egypt, now have diplomatic relations with Israel, others like the Saudis are understood to still be handled primarily by Barnea and the Mossad.
Even with countries like the UAE, the Mossad still has a strong role, given its long history with the country’s top players.