JERUSALEM

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, told families of Israeli captives held in Gaza that the chances to reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas were diminishing, according to Israeli media on Monday.

Barnea met with some families of Israeli hostages in recent days to post them about the chances of reaching a deal with Hamas to release their loved ones, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

He was quoted as saying that Israel was waiting for Hamas' responses to recent cease-fire proposals floated by Egypt and Qatar.

"At the moment, the chances of reaching a small deal are low, because Hamas insists on stopping the war,” Barnea said.

Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi proposed a two-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

On Saturday, Hamas called recent Gaza cease-fire proposals a “smokescreen" as they do not include an end to the Israeli war or withdrawal from the enclave.

When asked about ending hostilities with Palestinians, the Mossad chief said that Israeli negotiators were not granted the authority by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar have so far failed to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, but Washington maintains that Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Oct. 18 may lead to a breakthrough in talks.

Hamas, however, says the conflict will only end when Israel stops its military campaign in the blockaded enclave, which has killed over 43,300 people since October 2023.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar