Photo Credit: AP Photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advised Hamas fighters to surrender now, adding that it is over for them.
Netanyahu who advised the militants in a 24-second video posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, disclosed that dozens of Hamas militants had surrendered to his country's forces.
https://x.com/IsraeliPM/
He tweeted: "In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces. They are laying down their weapons and turning themselves in to our heroic soldiers.
"This will take time. 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!"
More than 17,500 Palestinians have been killed and 1.9 million people have been displaced since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
The war started after Hamas launched surprise attacks on villages in southern Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages back to Gaza.
The United Nations and many countries have called for a ceasefire but United States officials have opposed a general ceasefire because ‘it would only help Hamas retain its grip on power in Gaza’.
A week-long ceasefire late last month enabled the release of 110 Hamas hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians who had been incarcerated in Israeli jails. It also bought time for aid workers to bring more humanitarian supplies into the besieged Palestinian enclave.