Israeli captive's family told Hezbollah deal seen

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Relatives of one of two Israeli soldiers abducted by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006 said on Monday they had been told by an Israeli negotiator that a German-mediated prisoner swap was coming together.

"We had a meeting with (envoy) Ofer Dekel and he briefed us, not on the details, but he told us in general terms that there is about to be a deal," Zvi Regev, father of Eldad Regev, told Israel Radio. He said the meeting with Dekel was two weeks ago.

But Regev's brother Benny later cautioned against expecting the imminent return of Eldad or fellow captive Ehud Goldwasser.

"My father was not being accurate," he told Reuters. "We understand that we are in the direction of a deal. That's not to say it is a deal right now."

Regev said the Goldwassers had also been briefed by Dekel.

Israel waged a 34-day offensive in Lebanon after the two army reservists were snatched in a Hezbollah ambush, but then entered indirect talks on retrieving them, albeit clouded by doubts over whether they were alive.

Israel recently told Lebanon's Hezbollah via German mediators it would be willing to free jailed Lebanese fighters in exchange for the two soldiers abducted in 2006.

Topping the proposed release roster is Samir Qantar, who is serving a life sentence for a deadly 1979 raid and whom Israeli officials previously described as a "bargaining chip" for the return of a missing Israeli airman.

Qantar's lawyer, Elias Sabbagh, told Army Radio on Monday that "all the signs and indications are that a deal is coming together", but cautioned he had not heard anything official.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said of a possible swap: "I cannot confirm it."

Israel has yet to inform the family of Qantar's victims of an impending release, which is typically done in such cases, a family member said.

(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Janet Lawrence)