Former Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar told Edan Alexander on Thursday that he was sorry that Israel had failed to secure his release and that his freedom was thanks to the efforts of White House envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, N12 reported on Thursday.
"I want to apologize to you for falling into captivity also because of us, and for the fact that you were released thanks to Witkoff and not thanks to us," Bar allegedly reportedly the freed hostage.
During the meeting, Alexander told Bar about the trauma he experienced on October 7, his time in Hamas captivity and the worries he has for the remaining hostages.
The comments came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Maj.-Gen. David Zini as the new Shin Bet head, despite a High Court ruling that the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar was unlawful due to Netanyahu's conflict of interest in the "Qatargate" affair.
The hostage-ceasefire negotiations in Qatar
The meeting came as sources told the Jerusalem Post that the Israeli delegation was recalled from Qatar over a reported lack of movement on a new hostage-ceasefire deal.
An official told the Post that Hamas was demanding an American guarantee that the war would conclude entirely, leaving the enclave to remain in the hands of the Palestinian terror group.
A senior member of the negotiation team told Post: "We are awaiting Hamas's response and will send the delegation back to Qatar as needed."