Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime could lead to a hostage swap deal in the Gaza Strip, reports. In a conversation with representatives of the families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu alleged that the fall of Assad’s regime “was partially a result of Israel’s decisive operations against Hezbollah and Hamas”, according to . He said the fall of Assad “could open the door to new opportunities to strengthen a deal for the return of the hostages from Gaza”.