The former director of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, has acknowledged that he contributed to unblocking the case of the binational hostages held by Hamas following the October 7 attack on Israel.
In an interview with LBCI on Wednesday evening, he explained that he had acted on his own initiative after receiving a call from the United States “because it is not possible to remain indifferent and immobile in the face of a humanitarian issue and in the face of bloodshed” in Gaza.
“I received a phone call from an American lawyer who asked me if I could help secure the release of the hostages, explaining that the matter was running into many obstacles and was being blocked, particularly by Hamas. I got in touch with an official from this group, who explained that Hamas was not opposed to the release of the hostages but that it was important for them to evacuate their wounded, who could not be treated in Gaza hospitals,” recounted Ibrahim. He added that it was on this basis that binational hostages were released. “I remained in contact with their families until they arrived in hotels in Egypt,” he continued, before confirming coordination with Qatar on this issue. “If Qatar launched the process, I continued it with the contacts I made to get the wounded Hamas soldiers out of Gaza,” he said.
General Ibrahim also indicated that he had a meeting with the group’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha and, in response to a question, ruled out a visit by the latter to Beirut.
He noted that further steps would be taken to release binational and military hostages held by Hamas in the context of a humanitarian truce currently being negotiated. According to General Ibrahim, “the next exchange will involve binationals held by Hamas, who will be released when Tel Aviv agrees to release Palestinian women and children languishing in its prisons.”
He expressed confidence that a humanitarian truce would be established, “particularly in view of the pressure exerted on Israel by countries that want to get their nationals out of Gaza.” The former director of General Security pointed out that negotiations underway in Israel to this end are going well, which explains, in his view, Tel Aviv’s hardening of tone “as it seeks to multiply its gains.”
He went on to explain that “Hamas will later engage in indirect negotiations with Israel to demand, in return for the release of the Israeli military hostages, the release of over 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.” According to him, the October 7 attack was motivated by this issue.
Abbas Ibrahim accused the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of seeking to prolong the war, or even extend it, in order to “benefit from international support for his country and, above all, to avoid having to account, once the war is over, for his negligence.” He was referring to the fact that the Israeli authorities had allegedly ignored foreign intelligence reports warning them of a large-scale military operation by Hamas.
In response to another question, he ruled out the possibility of Hamas fighters being driven back to Lebanon or elsewhere once the Gaza war was over. “Hamas cadres determine their own fate, which they see in this way: either victory or martyrdom,” he commented.
On another level, Ibrahim also confirmed that he had tried, “in vain, to convince Lebanese officials in 2020, at the request of the former Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, not to announce a default in order to avoid the crisis into which the country had plunged.”
He said that the governor had assured him that Lebanon was perfectly capable of paying the $600 million in interest on its debt and that individuals had indeed taken advantage of the default.
