Netanyahu says ‘it is the beginning of the end’ for Hamas as dozens of terrorists give themselves up – and tells the rest ‘surrender NOW’: Footage shows more stripped suspects paraded by IDF – as forces edge closer to snaring ‘Gaza’s Bin Laden’
- Yahya Sinwar, 61, is Hamas leader in Gaza and has been in hiding during the war
- Israeli Prime Minister told Hamas terrorists ‘don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender now’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Hamas terrorists to ‘surrender now’ as he vowed that the Islamist group’s end is near.
His stark warning came as Israel’s Defence Forces said they are closing in on their number one target – top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
‘The war is still ongoing but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the Hamas terrorists: It’s over. Don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender now,’ Netanyahu said in a statement.
Reports have suggested that the 61-year-old, who has been dubbed Gaza’s Bin Laden, is in hiding at an address in northwest Khan Younis – a southern city being encircled by IDF troops.
Israel has said that more and more Hamas fighters are giving themselves up as ground operations are ramping up across the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Hamas terrorists to ‘surrender now’
Smoke rises as Israeli artillery units and howitzers stationed in the military zone launch attacks near the Gaza border in Nahal Oz, Israel on December 10, 2023
Yahya Sinwar, who has been dubbed Gaza’s Bin Laden, is reportedly in hiding at an address in Khan Younis – a southern city being encircled by IDF troops.
Palestinian detainees sit in a truck as Israeli soldiers stand guard and smoke rises in the background
Netanyahu said tonight: ‘In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces.’
The Israeli military has, however, not released proof that Hamas terrorists are surrendering, and Hamas has rejected such claims.
The IDF continued its onslaught against Hamas on Sunday as dozens more terror suspects were pictured bound, stripped and lined up on their knees.
Footage shared by Israeli media shows Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops rounding up scores of men and transporting them on the back of trucks.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said tonight that leaked footage and photos showing troops detaining Palestinian men in northern Gaza was not distributed by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
‘We tell people to undress to make sure they don’t have explosive belts on,’ he said.
He added that while ‘dozens’ of the detained men are Hamas fighters, many others are uninvolved civilians.
The detained men are believed to have surrendered in the Jabalia refugee camp and other areas around northern Gaza.
Dozens of captives are reported to have been paraded through Palestine Square in Gaza City this week, with shoes and sandals strewn across the street in one image
A military truck packed with stripped and blindfolded Palestinians who Israel has called ‘terror suspects’, without providing evidence
One clip shared to social media shows Palestinian men lined up against a wall.
One man then steps forward to give his assault rifle to the Israeli troops with his hands in the air, while others behind him hold their up their identification cards.
As bombs continued to rain down on Gaza last night, IDF chief Herzi Halevi declared his forces must ‘press harder’ to dismantle Hamas’s terror network.
‘Every day, we’re seeing more and more terrorists killed, more and more terrorists wounded, and in recent days we’re seeing terrorists surrendering – this is a sign their network’s falling apart, a sign we need to press harder,’ Halevi said at a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops have detained and interrogated hundreds of people in Gaza suspected of militant links.
Hagari told reporters: ‘Jabalia and Shejaiya are ‘centres of gravity’… for terrorists, and we are fighting them.
‘They are hiding underground and come out and we fight them. Whoever is left in those areas, they come out from tunnel shafts, and some from buildings, and we investigate who is linked to Hamas, and who isn’t. We arrest them all and interrogate them.’
Meanwhile on Friday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told IDF soldiers that he ‘sees the signs indicating a breakdown is beginning inside Gaza’.
Israeli forces have encircled major urban centres as they seek to destroy Hamas over its unprecedented attack on October 7, when terrorists broke through Gaza’s militarised border to kill around 1,200 people and seize hostages, 138 of whom remain captive, according to Israeli figures.
Since Israel began bombarding the small enclave in response, more than 17,170 Palestinians have been killed and 46,000 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry.
It comes after Israel vowed to continue its ‘just war to eliminate Hamas’, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the United States for blocking a United Nations ceasefire bid.
The US, a key ally of Israel, was the only member to veto the UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, while the UK abstained in the vote, despite widespread international support.
An Israeli soldier stands by a truck with Palestinian detainees in, who Israel says are ‘Hamas suspects’
Last week Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops have detained and interrogated hundreds of people in Gaza suspected of militant links
Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment on Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land that Israel had described as safe zones when telling Palestinians in the south to evacuate.
Residents ‘are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival,’ UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council before the UNSC vote.
Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harm’s way.
Israel says Hamas operates from within hospitals and has released footage supporting the claim, and it has also targeted in the past ambulances it says were used by Hamas. Hamas has denied this.
Almost one month ago, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas had ‘lost control’ of Gaza.
Hamas triggered the conflict with the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7 in which it killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, and dragged around 240 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel has responded with a relentless military offensive that has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed at least 17,997 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
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