Israel considering exiling Hamas leaders in Gaza as part of ceasefire deal

Israeli officials are considering exiling Gaza's Hamas leaders including the shadowy boss Yahya Sinwar - and having them sent to Sudan.

The option, if done with Sinwar's consent, would be part of a ceasefire deal involving the release of hostages still in the Palestinian Strip. If the swap-for-exile agreement is struck it may mean some of Hamas' assets frozen in Sudan by its government could be unfrozen, although it is not known where they would go.

Sudan froze Hamas assets belonging to the network around three years ago, after the US rescinded its listing of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. Prime Minister has said in the past that he does not rule out exiling Hamas officials to a third country, as part of an agreement to end the war.

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Israeli sources have said behind the scenes that they may allow Sinwar and his family to leave Gaza if it meant it would end their rule in the Strip. The sources added that if this did happen, it would not officially be defined as "exile" or "surrender", rather it would allow to end the war while allowing Sinwar to lose his leadership of the Strip.

Families of Israeli captives met with Qatari officials involved in negotiations this week and were told that Sinwar was "not communicating with us at the moment…he disappeared and stopped communicating by phone because of the assassinations."

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The Qatari mediators added that Sinwar was now communicating via handwritten letters, making it difficult to get quick responses from him. It is also believed he uses gloves when he writes to hide his DNA and frequently changes his bodyguards - a policy that has become increasingly difficult. And it is also believed Israel’s policy of assassinations have damaged the possibility of a deal.

Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasralla in an air strike on Lebanon last month and then killed his supposes successor Hashem Saffiedine a week later in a similar strike on an underground bunker. In July, Israel also killed Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a strike in Iran's capital, despite the fact he was a key figure in ceasefire and captive exchange negotiations. It was this killing that sparked Iran's first attempted missile strikes on Israel.

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