Benjamin Netanyahu tonight called on Hamas to “surrender now” and warned that this was “the beginning of the end” for the terror group – as Israel's relentless military offensive in Gaza rages on.
The Israeli prime minister's optimistic warning to the jihadist organization behind the Oct. 7 attacks came as the Israel Defense Forces said it was closing in on top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the main target described as “Gaza's bin Laden.” ” referred to as.
Sinwar is reportedly hiding at an address in the northwest of Khan Younis, a southern city surrounded by IDF forces. In a televised statement this evening, Netanyahu said: “The war is still ongoing, but it is the beginning of the end for Hamas.” I say to the Hamas terrorists: It is over. Don't die for Sinwar. Give up now.'
Heavy fighting raged in and around Khan Younis as Israel continued its offensive after the US blocked recent international efforts to end the fighting and delivered more ammunition to its ally.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the Palestinian death toll has risen to around 18,000 and the humanitarian situation is growing worse as thousands seek refuge in an ever-shrinking area to the south of the besieged enclave.
Meanwhile, hopes for a new ceasefire are fading as mediator Qatar said there was a “narrowing” window for a ceasefire while vowing to keep pressure on both sides to end the violence.
A military truck full of naked, blindfolded Palestinians whom Israel has labeled “terror suspects” without providing any evidence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Hamas terrorists to “surrender now.”
Smoke rises as Israeli artillery units and howitzers deployed in the military zone launch attacks near the Gaza Strip border in Nahal Oz, Israel, December 10, 2023
Yahya Sinwar, described as Gaza's Bin Laden, is reportedly hiding at an address in Khan Younis – a southern city surrounded by IDF forces.
Israel's air and ground war has killed thousands of Palestinians since the horrific attack by Hamas and other militants on October 7 killed 1,200 people and dragged around 240 hostages back to Gaza.
Over 100 of them were released during a week-long ceasefire late last month, and now there are growing concerns that the chances of a new ceasefire are fading.
Hamas has warned that no hostages would leave the Gaza Strip alive unless its demands for the release of prisoners were met. Under the latest temporary ceasefire, three Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons for every hostage returned.
The World Health Organization said tonight that the territory's health system is collapsing after more than two months of war.
As aid groups warn the area is on the verge of being ravaged by disease and famine, the United Nations chief lamented a divided and “paralyzed” Security Council that has failed to agree on a ceasefire.
“The health system in Gaza is devastated and collapsing,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization. Only 14 of 36 hospitals are at full capacity.
The WHO Executive Board adopted a resolution on Sunday calling for immediate and unhindered aid deliveries.
The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced – about half of them children – many of whom have been forced south and have no safe places to go.
Despite the worsening humanitarian situation, the rising death toll and pressure from its key ally, the US, to reduce civilian casualties, Israel has vowed to “push harder” in Gaza as Hamas appears to be on the verge of escaping stands for “decay”.
It said more and more Hamas fighters were surrendering as ground operations increased across the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said this evening: “In recent days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces.”
However, the Israeli military has provided no evidence that Hamas terrorists are surrendering, and Hamas has rejected such claims.
The IDF continued its attack 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 Defense Forces (IDF) troops rounding up dozens of men and transporting them in the back of trucks.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said this evening that leaked footage and photos showing troops holding Palestinian men in the northern Gaza Strip were not distributed by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
“We are asking people to take off their clothes to make sure they are not wearing explosive belts,” he said.
He added that “dozens” of the detained men were Hamas fighters, but many others were innocent civilians.
The detained men are believed to have surrendered in Jabalia refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza.
Palestinian prisoners sit in a truck as Israeli soldiers stand guard and smoke rises in the background
Dozens of prisoners were reportedly paraded across Gaza City's Palestine Square this week, with shoes and sandals scattered across the street in one picture
A clip shared on social media shows Palestinian men lined up against a wall.
Then a man steps forward with his hands raised to hand his assault rifle to Israeli troops, while others behind him hold up their ID cards.
As bombs continued to fall on Gaza last night, IDF chief Herzi Halevi said his forces needed to “push harder” to dismantle Hamas' terror network.
“Every day we see more and more terrorists being killed, more and more terrorists being wounded, and in the last few days we are seeing terrorists capitulating – this is a sign that their network is falling apart, a sign that we are applying more pressure have to do,” Halevi said at a ceremony at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops had arrested and interrogated hundreds of people in Gaza suspected of having links to militants.
Hagari told reporters: “Jabalia and Shejaiya are 'hot spots'… for terrorists and we are fighting them.”
In the picture, an Israeli flag flies over gathered IDF troops in the Shajaiya district of Gaza City
“They hide underground and come out and we fight them.” Whoever remained in these areas, they come out of tunnel shafts and some come out of buildings and we are investigating who is linked to Hamas and who is not. We arrest them all and interrogate them.'
Meanwhile, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told IDF soldiers on Friday that he “sees the signs that a collapse is beginning in Gaza.”
This came 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 offer.
The US, a key ally of Israel, was the only member to veto the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, while Britain abstained from the vote despite widespread international support.
An Israeli soldier stands next to a truck carrying Palestinian prisoners who Israel says are “Hamas suspects.”
Last week, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops had arrested and interrogated hundreds of people in Gaza suspected of having links to militants
Israeli warplanes attacked parts of the Gaza Strip in a relentless bombardment on Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling swaths of land that Israel had designated as safe zones as it urged Palestinians in the south to evacuate.
Residents “are being told to move like human pinball machines – bouncing between smaller and smaller parts of the south, without any means of survival,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council ahead of the U.N. Security Council vote.
Israel blames Hamas militants for civilian casualties, accuses them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made significant efforts to move civilians out of harm's way with evacuation orders.
Israel says Hamas operates from hospitals and has released footage supporting this claim. It has also in the past targeted ambulances that it claims were used by Hamas. Hamas has denied this.
Israeli soldiers operate with an APC in the Shajaiya district of Gaza City amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, December 8, 2023
Almost a month ago, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas had “lost control” of Gaza.
Hamas sparked the conflict with the deadliest attack ever on Israel on October 7, in which it killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel, and dragged about 240 hostages back to Gaza, of whom 138 are still held captive, according to Israel.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, Israel has responded with a relentless military offensive that has reduced swathes of the Gaza Strip to rubble and killed at least 17,997 people, mostly women and children.